Monifa Thomas, Dave Newbart and Mark Konkol
The Chicago Sun-Times
Copyright 2006 Chicago Sun-Times, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
CHICAGO — A Loop-bound L train with about 150 passengers derailed Tuesday, rattling passengers’ nerves as the two rear cars bucked and bounced along the elevated tracks.
After the dust and sparks cleared, some riders froze, fearing the tilting Orange Line train might tumble to the ground 27 feet below.
“It looked like we could have fallen off the tracks,” said passenger Eric Potrero, 21, of the South Side. “It was pretty scary.”
Some said the train appeared to be speeding just moments before jumping the tracks. “It felt like a rollercoaster, cars started bumping up and down,” Potrero said.
Two signal maintenance employees working near a signal relay house just south of the derailment -- in the 1400 block of South State -- may have accidentally tripped a track switch, causing the tracks to move as the last car rumbled by, said CTA President Frank Kruesi.
Power was temporarily cut to the electrified track, and service on the Orange and Green lines was snarled the rest of the day. But it should be back to normal -- with the exception of slow zones around the derailment site -- today.
The train that derailed was traveling no faster than 35 mph, normal for that section of the route, Kruesi said.
No one was seriously injured, but eight people were taken to area hospitals, complaining of bumps, bruises and anxiety. About two dozen passengers in the rear car -- which ended up straddling two sets of tracks and tilting toward the street below -- had to be plucked from the car by rescuers in baskets.
“People were fearing for their lives,” said Tyrie Anderson, 25, who was in the rear car. “One lady lost her breath. . . . There was panicking. The ladies were crying, grabbing each other and basically fearing for their lives.”
Switching error possible
It all occurred about 11:45 a.m., as the four-car train headed north from Midway Airport, just moments before pulling into the Roosevelt station. “When I came over, everyone was inside, kind of moving their hands frantically,” said Ryan McLain, a valet working in a nearby lot. After the train came to halt, some riders were too afraid to move.
For Aisha Parker, a 28-year-old South Sider who is eight months pregnant and was on her way to work in Evanston, the accident left her shaken and in tears. “I couldn’t do nothing but just cry and call people” on a cell phone, she said. Parker was among those lowered to safety in a fire department bucket. The remainder of the passengers were escorted to a train that pulled up alongside the derailed one. A dozen ambulances were sent to the scene just in case. Some passengers in the first three cars said they waited an hour or more to be rescued and then another hour before finally getting to the Roosevelt station.
Despite concerns from passengers that the rear car might tumble to the ground, Kruesi said: “The likelihood of a train falling off is remote.” Two guard rails -- one of steel, the other made of timber -- border the L tracks, said CTA spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney.
Kruesi said it will take a review of the CTA’s electronic records to find out if, when and how the track switch was activated. It’s also possible that a malfunction with the switch or debris on the tracks from a nearby construction project might have caused the derailment, Kruesi said.
Drug test pending
The two signal maintenance men and the train’s motorman are being tested for drugs and alcohol -- standard CTA procedure, Kruesi said.
Tuesday’s derailment is the latest in a spate of track and equipment problems that have caused major service disruptions in recent weeks. Kruesi said some of those incidents were beyond the CTA’s control, while others are symptoms of an aging rail system.
One of the worst accidents in CTA history took place Feb. 4, 1977, when a train rounding the elevated curve at Lake and Wabash struck the back of a parked Ravenswood train, killing 11 and injuring 183 as four train cars fell 20 feet to the street. In 1987, 25 people were hurt when an L train hit a stopped train at Wabash and Lake.
Contributing: Stefano Esposito and Andrew Herrmann
Blood on the tracks
The worst L disaster in Chicago history was a crash-derailment Feb. 4, 1977, when a train rear-ended another atop the Loop L tracks at Lake and Wabash and four cars plunged to the street, killing 11.
Here are other recent derailments:
Aug. 12, 2006: Blue Line derailment between Jefferson Park and Harlem shuts service three hours. No injuries.
July 11, 2006: Blue Line derailment/fire in subway near Lake & Desplaines sends more than 150 to hospitals.
April 6, 2006: Red Line derailment at Armitage shuts Purple, Brown and Red lines for four hours. No injuries.
Oct. 3, 2005: Red Line work train derails north of Belmont shutting down Brown and Red lines for three hours. No injuries.