CHICAGO — Metra Electric will face modified operations on for three of the next four weekends, while South Shore Line operations in to Chicago will also face disruptions on two weekends to accommodate construction work related to South Shore’s coming expansion of service.
Plans for the service outages include:
— On the weekends of Oct. 25-26, Nov. 1-2, and Nov. 15-16, Metra Electric service will operate on a Sunday schedule both Saturday and Sunday. South Shore trains will operate on their regular weekend schedule.
— On Nov. 1, 15, and 16, no trains will operate between the Millennium and 18th Street stations, with bus service connecting those stations. Two intermediate stops, Van Buren Street and Museum Campus/11th Street, will be closed those dates and will not be served by the shuttle buses. Pace Paratransit will provide shuttles for those with ADA customers or those who have difficulty using stairs.
— The shuttle buses will not be able to accommodate bicycles, and travel with heavy luggage is not recommended.
More information is available here.
The modified service will accommodate construction work adding a fourth track into Millennium Station in preparation for additional South Shore service that will begin with the completion of the West Lake Corridor project. That project, building an 8-mile-long South Shore branch between Hammond and Munster, Ind., at one time was projected to open Oct. 31, but the South Shore announced in May that the opening would be delayed because of construction issues related to the spur’s electrification [see “Launch of South Shore’s West Lake service …,” Trains.com, June 9, 2025]. At that time, the South Shore said the opening had been pushed back to “the end of 2025;” no additional information on an opening has been announced.
