Metra Winter Weather Guide
CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- This week's bitter cold has not been kind to Metra and some of its passengers.
Metra's Sylvia Ortiz-Cooper says the bitter cold, along with snow earlier in the week, has led to switches freezing up and causing delays for some Metra trains.
Ortiz-Cooper says crews are assigned to keep the switches working. But with about 460 switches on Metra's lines, the crews can't monitor all of them constantly.
"Snow, ice and cold temperatures are always a problem for Chicago and that's including Metra, and, unfortunately, the railroad can completely eliminate a common weather switch problem, and that's what we're facing," she said.
If service on your Metra line is delayed because of frozen switches, Ortiz-Cooper suggests getting to a station earlier to improve your chances of getting where you're going on time. She also suggests going to a station with a heated waiting area in case you have to wait.