Trains were stopped for an hour and a half on the Metra Electric District line on the South Side this morning while authorities investigated a suspicious package that turned out to be an empty suitcase, authorities said.
Two inbound trains, numbers 114 and 116, were stopped around 115th Street about 8:20 a.m. while other inbound and outbound trains were halted near 53rd Street as canine units checked the package, according to Metra. Passengers who were waiting on the platform were moved away from the tracks, officials said.
We feel pretty safe calling this a "tactic." We've seen or heard about 8 different reports about empty luggage stopping or delaying rail, road and water traffic.