While many were asleep, Metra crews were up bright and early Monday morning on salt duty at Metra's more than 200 stations.
"Some of the gangs were called out at midnight, and some of them were getting were called out at 2 a.m.," said Meg Thomas-Reile, Metra spokesperson.
She said during heavy snowfall, one of Metra's biggest concerns is making sure traffic signals are visible to commuters and drivers.
"What we really have to worry about is keeping the switches clear and the signal aspects, so so you see the red light, or the green light or the yellow light telling you that it's safe to cross through this part of the territory," she said.
It's also that time of the year where people may see what looks like Metra setting the railroad tracks on fire.
"We don't light the tracks on fire," Thomas-Reile clarified "At one location out near the Western Avenue Station on the Milwaukee District lines, we light gas fired heaters. We're lighting fires adjacent to the switches near them to keep the area warm."
And as people are driving across intersections in the snow, Thomas-Reile reminds them to drive carefully and slowly.
"This is the time of year, and the type of weather where people, if they drive a little too fast, can get themselves stuck on the tracks or slide onto the tracks and have a problem," she said.
She said if you do get stuck on the tracks in your car, you should immediately leave your car and call the number listed on the blue and white signs located at every intersection.
"It also gives you the number of the intersections to the state, so that that goes to the dispatching centers," she said. "Then the dispatchers can stop traffic."