Most CTA Green Line service returns after train derails on Chicago's South Side
CHICAGO (CBS) — CTA Green Line services mostly resumed Monday after a derailed train forced passengers to be rescued on the South Side early in the morning.
According to the Chicago Transit Authority, Green Line service was temporarily suspended between 35th-Bronzeville-IIT and 63rd Street, Cottage Grove Avenue, and Ashland Avenue and 63rd Street due to the train at 63rd/Halsted just before 3 a.m. on elevated tracks 30 feet in the air.
By 7:50 p.m., service on the Green Line remained suspended on the Englewood branch of the Green Like, from Garfield to Ashland/63rd. All other service had resumed.
Earlier, services were only operating from Harlem/Lake to 35th-Bronzeville-IIT. Shuttle buses were provided, connecting service in both directions. Video from the scene shows firefighters using ladders to rescue stranded passengers from the elevated tracks just north of the 63rd and Halsted stop.
According to the Chicago Fire Department, fifteen people were rescued from the derailed train Monday morning. Three of those passengers were taken to the hospital with "very minor" issues.
A passenger told CBS News Chicago that the train stopped abruptly and made no loud noises. The operator then announced that the train had derailed, which the agency later confirmed.
Now, the question following the derailment is: What's being done to prevent this from happening again?
CTA officials said no one was available to address what happened but that the crane was rerailing the train. Services were fully restored just before 11 a.m.
"The cause of the incident is being investigated, and the track is being repaired for damages associated with the incident and remains safe for operation," the agency said.
"This was a wake-up call," said transportation expert and professor at DePaul University Joe Schwieterman. "They're feeling some pressure right now."
He says this should bring a focus to the city's transit infrastructure, with older systems, like the L, needing constant maintenance.
"We are modernizing the Red Line to avoid these kind of things up north. That same kind of discussion needs to happen about these other lines," Schwieterman said.
CBS News Chicago has also contacted the mayor's office about those infrastructure issues and whether there is state or federal help to fix them, but have yet to hear back.
