UNION STATION IN
CHICAGO HIT BY BROKEN PIPE FOR 2ND TIME IN A WEEK. AMTRAK TO CHANGE ACCESS TO
THE STATION FROM SOME DOORS TO REDUCE COLD AIR INFILTRATION
A broken water pipe has caused flooding at Chicago's
Union Station for the second time this week, officials said.
“About 4 p.m. we had another break in the sprinkler
system, in nearly the same place it occurred earlier this week,’’ Amtrak
spokesman Marc Magliari said.
Pipes running in the ceiling overhead burst, leaving a
pool about 2 inches deep and 40 feet by 40 feet wide.
No one was injured or splashed by the water, which is
not drinkable but used to put out fires.
At 5 p.m., water was still being “sopped up” and the
lead shut off.
The latest flooding was not immediately affecting trains
or commuters, according to Metra spokesman Michael Gillis.
Metra was notified by Amtrak that a water main leak had
flooded the south concourse, and maintenance workers were called to the scene,
Gillis said.
Metra and Amtrak officials were assisting commuters
wishing to depart on BNSF, SouthWest Service and Heritage Corridor trains on
tracks 6 and 8.
Friday's water line break was the second such incident
at Union Station this week.
Magliari said the sprinkler pipes in the ceiling above
the south concourse area were damaged during last winter's polar vortex, and
again this week by the subzero temperatures.
believe the system was weakened by all the cold air
intrusion," he said.
A sprinkler pipe froze and broke Tuesday, leaving a
large puddle of water in the same area of the south concourse near the train
platforms. That puddle was quickly cleaned up and did not affect trains,
Magliari said.
Heather Triplett, who was waiting at Union Station for a
friend to arrive on a delayed train from Michigan Friday evening, said she got
off a Metra train shortly after the pipe exploded. Metra employees were pushing
people away from a break wall near where she saw water gushing from the
ceiling.
“All the water was coming down,” Triplett said. “It was
heavy.”
Commuters followed instructions and went out a nearby
exit while sloshing through 1 to 1.5 inches of water, according to Steve Reed,
of Naperville.
“I think people reacted to it pretty well,” Reed said.
“Nobody fell that I knew of. I think people took it in stride.”
As the 5 p.m. rush subsided, the only evidence remaining
of the flood was a large trash bin that collected water from one tile in the
ceiling and a damp, muddy floor.
But some commuters like Kate Gould of Downers Grove were
still feeling the after-effects, as sporadic announcements about switched gates
and delayed trains were being made through a loud speaker.
“I’m just walking in circles because I don’t know where
my train is,” she said.
Gould never found the train she normally takes at 5:25
p.m., she said, and she was studying the latest postings to figure out where
she might catch the next train out at 5:49 p.m.
“It’s saying ‘on time,’ but I doubt it,” Gould said.
The break and concerns about the arctic air coming into
Union Station prompted Amtrak, the building's owner, on Friday to announce
changes in access to the station and foot-traffic flow, Magliari said.
Customers at the station's food court complained about
the cold.
The changes are intended to improve temperature
conditions at the station and will be in effect through Feb. 28, Magliari said.
Limiting the use of some doors will improve the control
of the influx of cold air into the station, which is expected to reduce
incidents such as sprinkler pipe breaks caused by the extreme cold, Magliari
said.
No changes are planned for the main entrances at the
Chicago River, to and from Adams Street and Jackson Boulevard, which are the
highest-volume routes for most station users. All exterior entry and exit
locations remain in service.
The connecting corridor between the station's north and
south concourses will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Foot traffic to the ticket offices for Amtrak, Metra and
Greyhound, to and from Canal Street, or to and from other services will be
redirected. Also, use of the automatic doors and escalators between the east
side of Canal Street and the concourse will be limited in off-peak times.
Elevators will operate at all times.
Doors to the service drive under the station are now for
emergency use or during events in the Great Hall. Pedestrians will be directed
instead through the Great Hall or to and from other entrances.
Tribune reporter Meredith Rodriguez contributed to this
story.