CTA Red Line Train Accident Suspends Service in Chicago

October 2nd, 2012 |

CHICAGO, IL — A CTA Red Line train, originally thought to have derailed, is now being called a “split switch issue,” which ended up suspending service on the north branch of the Red Line for about two hours.

chicago-il-cta-red-line-train-derailment

A track switching incident on the CTA Red Line near the Granville Station in Edgewater in Chicago, IL caused one of the passenger cars to veer off its tracks on October 1, 2012. The front and rear wheels of the rail car wound up on two different tracks.

The incident occurred around 12:45 p.m. on Monday, October 1, when a CTA Red Line train got stuck between two tracks near the Granville Station in Edgewater in Chicago, Illinois. According to reports, half of the eight-car train got switched over to another track. The rest stayed straight.

chicago-il-cta-red-line-train-derailment-map

Map showing location of CTA Red Line train accident in Edgewater in North Chicago, IL on October 1, 2012 at the W Rosemont overhead tracks between N Broadway and N Winthrop Ave about 1/10th of a mile north of Granville Station.

ABC Local reports:

According to the CTA, about 100 passengers were on the train, but no serious injuries were reported, however one person was taken to the hospital to be checked out.

“Immediately the fire alarm office dispatched a response with an EMS plan 1 with anticipation of a lot of injuries, which we didn’t have,” Mark Nielsen, Chicago Fire Department, said.

The passengers were moved into the four cars that stayed upright and taken to the Loyola Red Line stop. Then they boarded buses.

The incident remains under investigation at this time.

Posted by Gordon, Elias & Seely, a FELA lawyer and Illinois railroad injury lawyer who publishes train accidents and FELA legal news from across the United States.