At 10:39 a.m. local time (07:50 UTC) on November 16, 2023, a Yellow Line passenger train, carrying 30 passengers and 1 operator, approaching its terminal at Howard station at 26.9 mph (43.3 km/h) collided with stopped snow-removal equipment, carrying 6 employees, on the southern track.[2][3] The front car of the two-car train was partially crushed and derailed.[4][5] Fifteen ambulances responded to the scene.[6] Of the 37 people aboard both vehicles, 16 were injured, 3 of which were in critical condition.[1]
Service on the Yellow Line was discontinued pending an investigation.[7]
Train
Footage from investigators show that the train involved in the accident was one 5000-series pair, cars 5599 and 5600, and the maintenance vehicle was a Niigata Transys-built diesel snow removal vehicle numbered S-500.[5][8]
Investigation
The following day, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) started an investigation into the crash.[9][2][10] Initial news reports suspected the operator to be incapacitated or in error;[11] however, a preliminary announcement from the NTSB indicated that the CTA had underestimated its trains' braking distance, compounded by the effects of slippery rails.[12][13]
In a preliminary report released on December 12, 2023, the NTSB found that, at the time of the incident, the snow-removal equipment had stopped 370 feet (110 m) north of a red signal. The passenger train operator received a stop command from the signal system when the train was traveling southbound at approximately 54 mph (87 km/h), about 2,150 feet (660 m) behind the snow-removal equipment. The operator engaged the brakes and emergency brakes, and the train decelerated to 26.9 mph (43.3 km/h) before colliding with the stationary equipment.[2][3][14]
Aftermath
Following the incident, service on the Yellow Line was fully closed and replaced with bus service, initially announced to be for a period of five days.[7] Following the release of the NTSB's preliminary report, the CTA announced that it would reduce the speed limit on the Yellow Line from 55 mph (89 km/h) to 35 mph (56 km/h), and to 25 mph (40 km/h) in the area where the crash occurred.[15] Yellow Line service resumed on January 5, 2024.[16]
^Torres, W. R. (1988). Chicago Transit Authority Evaluation of Rail Borne Snow Removal Vehicle (S-500). Final Report (Report) – via National Academy of Sciences.
