Animal fat leak halts Metra trains — chicagotribune.com

Commuter rail service on Metra/s Union Pacific West Line has been halted indefinitely at the height of the afternoon rush hour because a stalled freight train is leaking animal fat onto the tracks, Metra officials said Friday afternoon.

It’s a sticky situation: high winds and high humidity and high temperatures, plus an unGodly amount of spilled animal fat that’s forced all the roads that cross the tracks in a long section of the Metra West Line to be closed, except for IL-83 and York Road, which cross via underpasses. Also, I-355 and I-294 are probably seeing higher traffic – my husband David is more than likely stuck in traffic right now.

It’s a huge mess. Plus, all kinds of people are stuck downtown trying to get home, and Metra will probably have to start loading them on buses to get them on their way, if they don’t get the freight train moved and the tracks powerhoses off.