Service has returned to normal at Metra stations in University Park and Richton Park after a fire at the University Park station last week, Metra says.
Spokesperson Michael Gillis said in an emailed statement that Metra is still investigating the cause of the fire, after the damage shut off power to the last two stations on the electric line the afternoon and evening of Aug. 28. Some power was restored on Friday, but Metra closed the stations again on Sunday to repair the line.
All electric line trains originated and terminated at the Matteson station on Friday and Sunday, with service at the University Park and Richton Park stations resuming Monday morning. No injuries were reported as a result of the fire, according to a University Park news release.
Gillis said electric line cars are powered by electricity supplied by overhead wires, with electrical substations including those in University Park and Richton Park distributing the electricity.
The disruption came two years after half of a staircase leading pedestrians to the train tracks at the University Park stop caved in, injuring one person. The stairway has since been repaired, but it followed years of local officials calling on Metra to make improvements to the stop.
“When I was the mayor … I had called them out because I was a little disgusted about the condition the Metra station was in,” former University Park Mayor Vivian Covington told the Daily Southtown after the staircase collapse. “It’s in bad condition (and) it smells.”
Covington said in 2017, Metra agreed to begin station upgrades. Gillis said Metra plans to complete upgrades to the University Park station but has no timeline for when construction would begin.
“We currently are working on securing funding to begin preliminary engineering on a University Park rehab,” Gillis said.
In the meantime, he said, they will begin a project next month to repair the roof canopy.
Meanwhile, work is underway to construct a new 95th Street/Chicago State University station, costing $33.4 million. Work was scheduled to begin last summer and take a little over three years to complete. Updates include building an enclosed street-level entrance on 95th Street, a new platform with a full-length canopy and a walkway and bike lane that connects to a new commuter parking lot and tunnel entrance, according to a Metra news release.
Metra also announced plans to invest $3.4 million in preliminary engineering, environmental review and final design phase activities for the Olympia Fields Metra station as well as $17.7 million for construction to begin in 2026. The existing tunnel will be gutted and repaired after complaints of water leaks, Gillis said, and passengers can expect amenities such as LED monitors, lighting and signage.
Gillis said Metra will spend $809 million on the electric line this decade, more than half of which is dedicated to station rehabilitation. Between 13 and 15 more stations are being considered for improvements in the next few years.
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