HEAVY PASSENGER LOADINGS. On Friday, some Metra trains ran late, and some trains already full with celebrating Blackhawks fans passed scheduled stops without stopping.

Throughout the morning, Metra trains were crowded, and boarding was going slow as fans from the suburbs packed into the cars.

“Squeeze in. Squeeze in. Make room,” one conductor implored.

Some of the trains were so packed, no one could get on at stops.

It's not quite a "The public be damned" moment, as the carrier anticipated large loads and provided additional capacity, although some of that capacity was delayed.

For inbound traffic this morning from the western suburbs, the travel problems were made worse when a train designated as an extra train to accommodate the crush struck a vehicle near Main Street in Glen Ellyn. That Union Pacific line train was headed for West Chicago with the intention of turning around to pick up riders headed for Chicago.

As a result, three Union Pacific trains--Nos. 32, 36 and 38--heading toward Chicago were delayed up to an hour, but were on the move as of 9:25 a.m. according to Metra's Web site. Information about injuries resulting from the crash wasn't immediately unavailable.

Meanwhile, Metra trains in other parts of the Chicago area quickly became filled to capacity, forcing Metra to add extra equipment.

Train No. 636, scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 8:23 a.m., along the Union Pacific Northwest Line ran express this morning between the northwest suburban Barrington and Chicago's Clybourn Avenue stations, Metra said on its Web site. An extra train was made available for riders between the northwest suburban Palatine and Chicago's Jefferson Park stations.

In the south suburbs along Metra's Rock Island District line, train No. 416, originally scheduled to make stops between Tinley Park's Oak Park Avenue and Blue Island stations and the 103rd- Washington Heights station in Chicago bypassed those stations after reaching capacity. An extra train had to follow that one to stop at all No. 416's missed stations.

On the Milwaukee District North Line, train No. 2126 that was scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 9:21 a.m. and No. 2128, scheduled to arrive at 10:22 a.m., were running about 20 to 25 minutes late due to heavy passenger loading, Metra's Web site stated.

Milwaukee District train No. 2228 was running 15 minutes late due to heavy passenger loading, as well. Also because of heavy ridership, an extra train on the BNSF Railway line was unable to stop for passengers at stations between Hinsdale and Chicago. Train No. 1262 scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 10:42 a.m. would pick up those riders, Metra said.

A radio news report had an inbound train on the Waukegan line skipping all stops inward of Wilmette, where commuters have the option of using the Evanston and Howard branch of the Rapid Transit. I have turned up no reports of fans angry with Metra for completely missing the rally, although some riders might have found themselves further from the parade route or the stage than they had intended.

Metra has a weekend prohibition on cans and bottles on trains when passenger loadings are large. Sports fans can imbibe at the rally or if they took in a baseball game afterwards, but they're limited to sleeping it off on the train, probably a better outcome than if they drove in and attempted to drive home.