CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) -
Wednesday night the Burlington Northern Santa Fe trains were back up and running after the onset of rush hour was filled with chaos and confusion for many BNSF commuters heading home through west suburban Westmont. The crane accident in Westmont sparked rolling delays that lasted at least three hours affecting inbound and outbound train service for several lines, just as hundreds were hurrying home.
"I heard about it from a friend and they had it out on Facebook," said Tim Vavra, a commuter.
"So I know we're probably going to be stuck here for a good while... oh man, that is terrible," said Michael Blackwell, a commuter.
Heated exchanges between Metra employees and passengers filled Union Station - the aftermath of a crane collapse on the tracks in Westmont.
"I'm ready to go home and I've been downtown since about 6:30 this morning and now they're telling us to get on this train and it's a possibility that this train may or may not get past Westmont and more than likely we're going to be stuck like they always do us," said Erika Driver.
The accident happened shortly before noon - hours later the tracks remained shut down, raising commuters' frustrations.
"My car is at Route 59 in Aurora so that means if they can't get me home - I don't know how I'm going to get home. I don't have family here so I don't have anyone to pick me up. So they can either drive me in a taxi all the way home or they need to put us on a bus and get us back home, they need to do something," said Driver.
"They've been working very hard and it looks like it's just been cleared... Our focus on passenger communication was keeping passengers informed of the situation as it unfolded and giving them some alternatives and some guidance on when we expect trains might be back in service," said Robert Carlton, a spokesperson with Metra.
The crane was lifting a crossing signal moments before it came crashing down. The steel beem blocked three tracks as emergency personnel in bright vests scrambled to remove the tipped over crane. By 5:30pm it was out of site and service was restored. Despite display boards indicating On-Time departures, commuters experienced delays albeit minimal by the time Metra's staff showed up hoping to calm commuters' concerns.
"They're going now, it's just delayed so I'm going to hope for the best I guess. It's just kind of the nature of public transportation," said Heather Bosley, a commuter.
The heavily traveled BNSF has more than two dozen stops. Initially BNSF riders were told to avoid Union Station and find another way to get home, though some never got that message. The tracks were cleared around 5:30pm and service resumed shortly thereafter.
