UP Starts Tie Replacement Project on its North Line

Union Pacific is about to embark on a major tie project on its North line.

David C. Lester

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. – Today, Union Pacific starts a tie replacement project along 10 miles of its North Line, totaling roughly 3,000 ties between Highland Park and Wilmette.

On Monday, August 14^th, Union Pacific begins replacing 3,000 ties along 10 miles of its North Line between Highland Park and Wilmette, according to Metra. Because of train traffic, the work will take place Sunday through Friday between 7pm and 5am. The project is expected to last until mid-September, and Union Pacific asserts that “this schedule will allow the work to progress more quickly, lessening the impact to communities along the line.”

Jim Derwinski, Metra’s Executive Director and CEO, reiterated the need for tie replacement, calling it “essential” and how it “must be done at regular intervals to maintain track speeds and service levels. . . We understand that track work during overnight hours will affect the communities in the work zone, but working when fewer trains are running will enable the UP to minimize the impact by allowing the work to be accomplished more quickly.

Metra also warned riders along the line that they might experience delays in the evening, and communities might experience increased noise. Moreover, there could be track changes as work takes place, so Metra encourages its customers “to listen for platform announcements throughout the project to verify the boarding platform well in advance of a train’s arrival at their station.”