Metra officials announced today that service on the Beverly Branch of the Rock Island Line will be shut down for one weekend in May while workers replace ties along the line.
There will be no service on the Beverly Branch on the weekend of May 19-20. Mainline Rock Island trains on those dates will make additional stops at 103rd Street/Washington Heights, 95th Street/ Longwood and Gresham to accommodate branch line customers on those dates. One additional mainline train will also be added on Saturday and Sunday to limit gaps in service for branch line customers.
“We understand that this will inconvenience some of our customers, but track projects like this are absolutely essential to maintaining safe and high-quality rail service,” said Metra CEO/Executive Director Jim Derwinski. “In this case, taking the branch line out of service for those two days will allow us to replace significantly more ties in a shorter period of time, thereby limiting the overall impact to our customers and making much more efficient use of our work force.”
A total of 10,000 ties will be replaced during the project, which begins Friday, May 4, and continues through Friday, June 8. Throughout the tie replacement project, midday off peak trains on the Beverly Branch could experience delays of up to 10 minutes en route. You can find a complete schedule of trains affected on our website metrarail.com. Workers will also replace all the pedestrian crossings along the branch, including any rail that shows signs of deterioration due the salt spread on the crossings during the winter months.
The Beverly Branch serves residents of the Beverly and Morgan Park neighborhoods in Chicago and splits off the Rock Island main line south of Gresham and rejoins it at the Blue Island Vermont Street.