El train derailed...hit escalator at airport (Chicago, Rosemont: safety, yard)

[Lookout Kid]

After the Forest Park "ghost train" not so long ago, what the hell is going on with the Blue Line operators?

I wonder if the crash woke up the homeless people who sleep in the very last car to avoid driver attention?

[Alacran]

Both ends of the blue line have failed.

[ChicagoMeO]

its' gotta be the conductor was either - sleepy/sleeping/fell asleep, texting, not paying attention. I hope he wasn't proven texting, oh my god that would really be the worst.

[MSchemist80]

The train was running express passed O'Hare.

[Thepreacherswife]

The signal system and track trips SHOULD have kept the train below 15 mph at maximum in the platform area, but just like in the Forest Park incident, they didn't do their job. That train had to be moving at least 30 mph to crash through the bumper and ramp up onto the escalator like that.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by MSchemist80

The train was running express passed O'Hare.

Pretty sure that MSchemist is tryng a little humor here -- the O'Hare terminal is TRULY the "end of the line" for the Blue Line, they cannot "extend" these CTA tracks out to Bensenville or Itasca without tunnelling UNDER the runways. Even the "maintenance yard" for this stretch of the CTA is EAST of this terminal near where 294 forks off of the the 90 junction....


Seems like had to involved multiple system being either inoperative and/ or monitoring ignored. Not a confidence builder when the CTA ought to be still trying to make up for other blunders like the rollaway train from the Forest Park yard and the inevitable uptick in visitors that fly in to O'Hare as the weather improves. As soon as NTSB investigator OK the removal of the train I am sure that the cover-up, er clean-up will commence...

[NARFALICIOUS]

Originally Posted by mjd07

Thankfully, the airport wasn't crowded at the time. Still a tragedy, though.

If this happened during Rush Hour, the city would be going nuts, by the body count.

[MSchemist80]

It looks like the station suffered some pretty significant damage. I wonder when it will be accessible to riders again. From what I've heard it will take a couple days just to move the train.

Seriously the CTA has those systems that beep and shut down the train when it is exceeding the allowed zone speed. It seems like safety systems have been failing a lot for the CTA. In addition to the ghost train there was an operator that decided the red signal at the junction at Van Bureen and Walbash was just a suggestion and derailed the train there a year or so ago.

[chirack]

I wonder was it engine, engine number nine? And did the passengers get their money back?

[MassVt]

Looks like they're going to leave the train right where it is until they finish their investigation; minimal delays transporting people to O'Hare, although this could be a cabbie's wet dream..