Nov. 2023 Yellow Line Collision

[Busjack]

Yellow Line train collided with a yellow CTA S-500  north of Howard, approximately under the loop track, per coverage on ABC7. Front of the train is crushed. 12 injured, ambulances lined up on Chicago Ave. in Evanston. Update: web link.

Hastily posted* alerts:

Service Disruption: Red Line service has been temporarily suspended between Howard and Thorndale due to fire department activity.

Service Suspended: Service on the Yellow and Purple Lines have been temporarily suspended due to fire department activity

_______________

*Someone should tell them that 205 is not an alternative.

[andrethebusman99]

I understand why Yellow out. But why Red? Can't cross over south of howard into SB side to turn back? Is the system getting this inflexible?

[Busjack]

3 minutes ago, andrethebusman99 said:

I understand why Yellow out. But why Red? Can't cross over south of howard into SB side to turn back? Is the system getting this inflexible?

Fire departments are all over the scene and the power was turned off.

[Busjack]

Car 5599.

[jajuan]

12 minutes ago, Busjack said:

Yellow Line train collided with a yellow CTA S-500  north of Howard, approximately under the loop track, per coverage on ABC7. Front of the train is crushed. 12 injured, ambulances lined up on Chicago Ave. in Evanston. Update: web link.

Hastily posted* alerts:

Service Disruption: Red Line service has been temporarily suspended between Howard and Thorndale due to fire department activity.

Service Suspended: Service on the Yellow and Purple Lines have been temporarily suspended due to fire department activity

_______________

*Someone should tell them that 205 is not an alternative.

Yeah I was just reading the alert on CTA's site and saying wait the 205 does not exist anymore. Hopefully the injuries of the passengers and CTA employees involved were not too severe.

[sw4400]

I don't think that'll buffer out....

[Busjack]

4 minutes ago, jajuan said:

Hopefully the injuries of the passengers and CTA employees involved were not too severe.

Report was 2 critical.

[jajuan]

9 minutes ago, Busjack said:

Report was 2 critical.

CBS2 just updated that to 3 critical. 19 injuries in total.

[Busjack]

34 minutes ago, jajuan said:

Yeah I was just reading the alert on CTA's site and saying wait the 205 does not exist anymore. Hopefully the injuries of the passengers and CTA employees involved were not too severe.

The alert has now been revised.

[strictures]

The dummies at Channel 7 say it happened at 7500 Paulina, when in fact that section of track is in Evanston, north of Howard. 

I guess Chicago Fire Dept responds due to their larger size & abilities, not Evanston's Fire Dept.

[Javi75]

4 hours ago, sw4400 said:

I don't think that'll buffer out....

What do you think will be the fate of 5599? Would this go down as the 5000s first major accident? 

[artthouwill]

CTA is going to have to answer some questions.   Mist obvious is why the snow removal equipment was on the tracks?

Is there anything,  either vocally or by cab signal,  that could have alerted the operator to stop because there was equipment on the tracks?   Did CTA dispatch alert Yellow Line operators that crews would be on the right of way,?

[Sam92]

3 minutes ago, artthouwill said:

CTA is going to have to answer some questions.   Mist obvious is why the snow removal equipment was on the tracks?

Is there anything,  either vocally or by cab signal,  that could have alerted the operator to stop because there was equipment on the tracks?   Did CTA dispatch alert Yellow Line operators that crews would be on the right of way,?

That's what I'm curious about. The damage looks high speed but I thought the yellow line would have slowed down by that point enough to not have that much damage. Then as far as signals; isn't a vehicle being on a track segment trigger the block to show up as "occupied" (red or yellow aspect advising to encounter a train ahead?) I gotta reread how this works but I'm at ll questioning a lot 

[Bus1883]

2 hours ago, Javi75 said:

What do you think will be the fate of 5599? Would this go down as the 5000s first major accident? 

More than likely it’ll be out for a while if the frame is damaged then I think it’s done.

[Busjack]

54 minutes ago, artthouwill said:

Did CTA dispatch alert Yellow Line operators that crews would be on the right of way,?

NBC5 said there were some radio alerts from the tower. But until the NTSB investigates, it's too early to tell.

[Bus1883]

#5599-5600 may be out for a while…

[sw4400]

3 minutes ago, Bus1883 said:

#5599-5600 may be out for a while…

I would surmise 5599 will be retired. Pretty sure there's frame damage there. Unit is a.... 2011 or 2012 model? 2013 at the most. So, 10-12 years old, I believe.

[Bus1883]

2 hours ago, sw4400 said:

I would surmise 5599 will be retired. Pretty sure there's frame damage there. Unit is a.... 2011 or 2012 model? 2013 at the most. So, 10-12 years old, I believe.

2014 model to be exact. It is about the same age as the oldest 7900s

[andrethebusman99]

What caught my eye was "7 CTA employees involved". I would think three, maybe four on the snowfighter? Was this a training day for the snowfighter? Was this a training day on the Yellow line?

Also, this was a pretty decent speed hit, though the snowthrower seems to have survived pretty good. Would this imply the 5000s aren't all that crash resistant?

[chitowndude84]

Regarding 5599 I'm thinking it will be scraped for parts or used for training ??

We ALL know there will be a LONG "Hold" while CTA/NTSB investigates and there after!!!

[jajuan]

13 hours ago, artthouwill said:

CTA is going to have to answer some questions.   Mist obvious is why the snow removal equipment was on the tracks?

Is there anything,  either vocally or by cab signal,  that could have alerted the operator to stop because there was equipment on the tracks?   Did CTA dispatch alert Yellow Line operators that crews would be on the right of way,?

Well given that this is the week before Thanksgiving that we're talking about and Chicago is known for having snows early, the snow thrower being out for training would not be too far out of the realm of possibilities of reasons why it was out. The larger questions to sort out in the coming investigation are whether signals were in working order, whether the signals are spaced apart far enough, whether human error played a role, and whether the Yellow Line train was coming through too fast.

On the commuter side of this, Red and Purple Line services are back to normal because of the power restoration. However, Yellow Line service may be down for a while as NTSB continues its initial investigation into what happened.

[artthouwill]

14 hours ago, Busjack said:

NBC5 said there were some radio alerts from the tower. But until the NTSB investigates, it's too early to tell.

CBS2 played audio they said came from the Control Tower warning about the equipment in the tracks.  The warnings were issued about an hour before the accident.

[Sam92]

10 hours ago, sw4400 said:

I would surmise 5599 will be retired. Pretty sure there's frame damage there. Unit is a.... 2011 or 2012 model? 2013 at the most. So, 10-12 years old, I believe.

I mean it's still got a good 12-13 years left of life FTA wise if it was a bus then yeah it would be a goner

[Busjack]

29 minutes ago, Sam92 said:

I mean it's still got a good 12-13 years left of life FTA wise if it was a bus then yeah it would be a goner

If the frame is significantly damaged, CTA can't run it. Probably will sit at Shops until can dispose. 5600 will probably wait for another mismatch.

[Sam92]

1 hour ago, Busjack said:

If the frame is significantly damaged, CTA can't run it. Probably will sit at Shops until can dispose. 5600 will probably wait for another mismatch.

Well I'm not a structural expert but it looks like only the front was damaged. When that 4300 got hit head on you could see the frame bulged out from the shockwave but this is a far overhead shot of 5599