Thieves target freight train on Chicago's West Side, delaying Metra BNSF trains

Thieves looted a freight train on Chicago's West Side Tuesday morning, causing major delays for Metra commuters.

The stopped freight train was hit near 18th Street and Western Avenue. From CBS Skywatch, a big mess was seen on the tracks, including looted cardboard boxes and other debris.

As a result, Metra trains on the BNSF Line were temporarily halted near Western Avenue. Service on the BNSF Line has resumed, but Metra said extensive delays were expected, with some trains making changes to their schedules. Riders can check metratracker.com to see where their trains are.

Thefts targeting freight trains have been a problem in Chicago before.

Notably in October 2024, burglars broke into several shipping containers on a freight train in the West Side's Austin community in an hours-long daylight heist. The thieves were caught on camera pulling flat-screen TVs out of the back of a freight train car, walking with them to waiting cars, sometimes even passing a parked Chicago police unit with its lights on.

In the 2024 incident, police sources said Chicago police officers waited more than an hour for Union Pacific officers to respond and secure the tracks.

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