Yellow Line driver hit brakes moments before crash with snow plow, NTSB finds
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The driver of a CTA Yellow Line train tried to stop before hitting a snow plow last month in Rogers Park, but the train was still going 27 mph at the time of the collision, according to a preliminary report from federal investigators.
The National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday released preliminary findings in the Nov. 16 crash, which caused an estimated $8.7 million in damages to CTA equipment and left dozens of people injured.
The report states when the Yellow Line train was going 54 mph when the operator received a stop command because the snow plow was less than half a mile ahead.
When the operator saw the machine, they hit the brakes and the emergency brakes, but the train didn't stop in time, hitting the snow plow at 27 mph. The train's event recorder showed a system designed to reduce wheel sliding on the train activated throughout both braking operations, but that wasn't enough to stop the train before the crash.
A total of 31 passengers and 7 CTA employees were on the train at the time of the crash. All of them were injured, but none of the injuries were life-threatening. One person operating the snow fighter machine also was injured. The victims ranged in age from about 2 to 72 years old.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy discussed the preliminary findings Monday afternoon.
The NTSB said previously that a "design flaw" was to likely to blame for the accident – noting that the signal system on the Yellow Line was configured to allow for a stopping distance of 1,780 feet, while the current guideline is a stopping distance of 2,745 feet.
Trains are configured to take a certain amount of distance to stop. The larger and faster the train, the longer the distance it will need to slow down.
The CTA is responsible for calibrating the distance.
Homendy noted that the CTA signal system was designed some time ago – and there are many factors that enter into planning for stopping distances.
"The signal system is designed… and configured to allow a stopping distance to allow a stopping distance of 1,780 feet," Homendy said. "If you took that Yellow Line today – let's say the Yellow Line didn't exist, and today, you came in and put in a new Yellow Line – the stopping distance CTA would have to put in is 2,745 feet."
Testing is still to be conducted with regard to stopping distance as the NTSB investigates, Homendy said.
Homendy added that the NTSB believes the train operator did nothing wrong according to CTA protocol – nor did the CTA workers who were operating snow removal equipment on a clear, sunny day.
Still, questions remain about why the CTA system on the Yellow Line was configured with such a shorter stopping distance than would now be recommended.
The snow plow was out for a training exercise that CTA workers were conducting in advance of the winter months. They were preparing for snow removal ahead of poor weather conditions to come, Homendy said.
The snow plow was stopped on the tracks and waiting for a signal to move forward at the time of the crash, Homendy said.
Meanwhile, the Yellow Line, also known as the Skokie Swift, has been shut down since the crash. The CTA has been providing shuttle buses to replace Yellow Line service. It's still unclear when the line will reopen, as the CTA told us late Tuesday that they do not have a reopening date set.
Homendy was asked if the NTSB had asked the CTA to keep the Yellow Line closed. She said the NTSB had turned over the site back to the CTA on Nov. 20 – just four days after the accident – and the ball is fully in the CTA's court as to when the line will reopen.
Homendy was also asked if the Yellow Line is safe to reopen.
"We are not saying the line is safe. I will say that passenger rail overall is an extremely mode of transportation - much safer than getting into your car on any day or getting or coming from your destination," she said. "We're still conducting our investigation, so it's up to CTA to ensure the safety of their system."
The CTA has already taken some actions in the interest of safety in the wake of the accident, Homendy said. She said the CTA has reduced the maximum speed on the Yellow Line from 55 to 35 mph, and 25 mph at the exact location on the incident – where trains pass from a below-grade trench that runs through much of southern Evanston to a stretch of open track in the Howard train yard, ahead of the Howard terminal.
The CTA has also expanded cleaning of the rails, and will have CTA supervisors accompany Yellow Line train operators whenever the line reopens, Homendy said.
Responding to a question from CBS 2's Sabrina Franza, Homendy also said it was not out of the ordinary for a train operator to know a piece of equipment such as a snow plow was on the tracks, but not to know specifically where it was – as was the case in the Yellow Line accident.
The NTSB still has tests to conduct, and intends to return next week. The Alstom Group – which represents the manufacturer of the train since it bought manufacturer Bombardier, will also come to Chicago to meet with the NTSB and CTA teams for testing, Homendy said.
The testing will involve looking at the train that had the accident – with a general mechanical inspection, and inspection of all its systems, among other things. Accident reenactment runs will be conducted on an exemplar train, and laboratory tests are already in progress on organic matter found on the tracks, Homendy said.
Homendy also addressed the issue of signal systems that automatically override train operators and stop trains. The CTA as it is has automatic train control – in which the signal system sends information to trains on the track, and sends codes to slow down if necessary. The train operator passes a signal and then gets a signal to slow down or stop – and if the operators fails to do so within two or three seconds, the system shuts down, Homendy said.
Communication-based train control – the mass-transit equivalent of Positive Train Control, which is used for freight and longer-haul passenger trains – is a safer system, Homendy said. She said with communication-based train control, a train constantly gets information from different sources and would not be able to pass at all if there were something up ahead obstructing the tracks, Homendy said.
Homendy said last month that the NTSB recommended in a previous investigation dating back to 2014 that the CTA install such train control technology.
Homendy said the NTSB has not ruled out anything as the investigation continues.
A full investigation is expected to take several months.
In a statement late Tuesday, the Clifford Law Offices – which represents six people who have filed lawsuits in connection with the CTA crash, accused the CTA of negligence based on the NTSB findings.
"It is bewildering that the NTSB stated that the conductor of the train knew of a snow plow on the tracks but was unsure of its location, yet no special precautions to slow down the train nor was extra care taken for its passengers in this situation," Joseph T. Murphy, a partner at the firm, said in a news release, "This is a time when communication is critical in order to ensure that an accident is avoided."
Murphy also said in the release that the safety measures the CTA has since implemented are too little, too late.
"The CTA clearly had a duty and failed to timely make aware all appropriate personnel that there was snow removal equipment on the same line that was carrying passengers." Murphy said in the release. "Whatever safety measures are now being recommended are too late for the people hurt due to avoidable incident."
