A man was struck and killed by a train early Tuesday morning about one mile east of the Naperville Metra station, halting Metra BNSF Line trains in both directions for more than an hour and disrupting one of the region's busiest commuter corridors just as the morning rush began.
Metra confirmed that a male body was found on the tracks around 4 a.m., according to ABC7 Chicago, which reported the police activity that disrupted service near the station. The transit agency later confirmed that a train had struck and killed the man, and that service was suspended for more than an hour while police investigated, per CBS Chicago.
The BNSF Line runs 37.5 miles between Chicago Union Station and Aurora. BNSF Railway owns the right-of-way and handles dispatching, and BNSF management and crews operate the line.
Region's Busiest Commuter Line Feels the Strain
The BNSF Line is Metra's busiest line, with 7,575,111 rides in 2025. Tuesday's disruption near Naperville halted service in both directions.
This is not the first time a death on the tracks has frozen BNSF Line service in or near Naperville. In November 2025, a freight train struck and killed a pedestrian near Naperville, halting service between Lisle and Aurora on the same day a vehicle struck a railway bridge along the same route, Hoodline previously reported. An Amtrak train struck a pedestrian near Cicero on the shared BNSF corridor, halting movement there.
Naperville's Grim Recent Rail History
Tuesday's death adds to a string of fatal incidents at or near the Naperville station. In December 2025, a snowplow operator clearing snow on the station platform was fatally struck by a freight train, an accident that led the victim's family to file a wrongful-death lawsuit against Metra in July, alleging inadequate platform safety measures and warning protocols, according to CBS Chicago.
Trackside deaths elsewhere on the Metra system have followed a similar pattern of service disruption. In December 2025, transit personnel discovered a deceased man beside Metra tracks in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood on the Milwaukee District West line, prompting brief holds while authorities determined whether a train had been involved; Metra police ultimately concluded the victim was not struck by a train after an on-scene investigation, Hoodline reported at the time.
The circumstances of how the man gained access to the restricted right-of-way east of the Naperville station remain unclear, and the DuPage County Coroner's Office has not yet released an official cause of death.
