Taking The Metra Was A Waking Nightmare After Cubs' Victory Rally

By Stephen Gossett in News on Nov 4, 2016 8:25PM

Twitter / Metra

The gargantuan Cubs parade and rally in Grant Park on Friday afternoon attracted some 5 million fans to downtown Chicago, according to city officials—nearly twice as many people than actually live in Chicago. Any event of such magnitude is likely to bring forth some transportation issues, but it seems like departing Metra riders may have had the worst of it.

Metra at around 2:30 p.m. warned riders of overcrowding at Union Station.

Riders on social media presented a picture of huge crowds and long lines waiting to board, which extended to those boarding at Ogilvie, too.

Metra added extra train service for Friday morning and afternoon, but still anticipated record-breaking travel. “Tomorrow is expected to be the busiest day in Metra’s history,” Metra Executive Director/CEO Don Orseno said in a press release on Thursday. “We ask all of our regular customers and the new customers we expect to see tomorrow to be patient and, most importantly, be safe.”

Metra issued the following alert on Friday afternoon to riders and passengers:
"Trains departing from downtown Chicago may be operating behind schedule due to accommodating commuters from the Cubs Parade. Please listen to platform announcements for the location of your train or refer to Track Your Train for current delay information. Metra apologizes for this inconvenience."

"We knew we'd have large crowds," Metra spokesperson Michael Gillis told Chicagoist. "We're using all trains to get everyone moving as soon as possible. We ask for everyone's patience and understanding."

Gillis said Metra had not received any reports of incidents or injury.