I found this article interesting, perhaps you will too. I realize it’s normal in winter, I just didn't know the methods employed
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I remember seeing and hearing about this 50 years ago very interesting
Yes that is a common sight during cold and/or snowy days while riding Metra. I have not ridden Metra since the pandemic began, as I am primarily working from home and I find it easier to drive when I go to the office c. once per quarter to drop off files.
Switch heating is not just done in terminals. Main line dual controlled (motorized) switches need thawing, too. If you have ever used a switch broom (a broom with very stiff bristles and -- on the other end of the broomstick -- a chisel, you will appreciate switch heaters even more 
Out here on the windy, treeless, high plains of the Texas Panhandle, the older open-flame switch heaters on the former Santa Fe have been completely replaced by forced-air duct heaters. The Dispatcher used to try to remotely ignite the open-flame heaters, but the wind velocity would often be high enough that the propane gas would blow away instead of igniting, and somebody would have to be sent out into the weather, to light the burners manually. They sometimes were extinguished by wind also, and the DS would think they were working until a CTC turnout refused to budge. Then somebody from the train would step down with a switch broom, to chisel and sweep the turnout. Radio conversations between the DS and trains, asking if switch heaters were lighted at certain locations, used to be routine. The forced air heaters work like a home furnace system, with ignition occurring inside the burner box and being very reliable. We also have generators at most locations, to enable ignition if commercial power is interrupted.
