IL: Chicago Commuter Train Passengers Stranded 5 Hours

A spokesman for Chicago's commuter rail service says a train has returned to downtown after standing outbound passengers for about five hours when a powerful storm knocked down a power line in the train's path.

Metra spokesman Michael Gillis says passengers who were stuck when the train was stalled in Irving Park were being asked either to find another way home or to wait even longer for another train. Two inbound trains also remained stranded before dawn Wednesday, though Gillis says one had no passengers aboard and the other had few, if any.

There were numerous other delays and cancellations on the rail line due to thunderstorms and heavy winds that pounded the upper Midwest through the night. Hundreds of flights also were canceled at the city's two major airports.

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