By By Joseph Ryan
Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Friday, July 14, 2006
Two days after the CTA’s startling subway derailment and fire that injured 152, investigators were still sifting through charred evidence for a cause Thursday.
Meanwhile, the union for CTA el motormen called for the re-introduction of subway conductors for safety. The union says the addition of a second CTA employee to Tuesday’s ill-fated evening rush hour train would have made the evacuation process smoother.
"I hate to use this situation as an, ‘I told you so,’" said Rick Harris, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308. "But this was exactly the situation we were afraid of."
The CTA cut el conductors in the late 1980s from its routes citing cost concerns. Following Tuesday’s subterranean derailment, CTA President Frank Kruesi said they still weren’t needed.
CTA and Chicago officials have praised the motorman, who they say properly directed about 1,000 passengers along the dark, smoky tunnel to safety.
The National Transportation Safety Board, a federal agency heading up the investigation, hasn’t endorsed the union’s position. On Thursday, board member Kitty Higgins said numerous cities have only one motorman per train with no conductors.
Realistically, the CTA can’t currently afford to add more personnel to the system as it continues to struggle with multimillion-dollar budget shortfalls.
As for the derailment probe, a team of federal, CTA and Chicago investigators has pieced together a patchwork of facts from Tuesday’s harrowing incident as one passenger remained in critical condition at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
•The eight-car train appeared to be functioning properly.
•The electrical fire -- caused by the deadly third rail after the derailment -- did not reach into the train.
•The car’s emergency lights and public address system functioned properly
•Passengers in the last train car had to walk through the smoke just over 700 feet to the nearest escape hatch by Fulton and Clinton streets.
•The train was stopped immediately after the derailment by a switch that is intended to stop the train if it tries to disobey track signals. Investigators said jostling from the derailment likely caused the switch to cut power to the motors, not a track signal.
Higgins said investigators remained clueless about the derailment’s cause. On Friday they plan to review maintenance records for the tracks and train cars, as well as conduct more interviews with those involved. CTA subway tracks should be inspected twice a week under the agency’s policy.
Higgins revealed that previous public statements about the motorman’s actions were wrong. The motorman didn’t stay on the train, as CTA and NTSB officials told the press Wednesday, she said.
The motorman stepped onto the tunnel’s emergency catwalk and directed passengers from there to the stairs that led to the surface. It is an issue because some passengers have criticized the motorman for not making a PA announcement about the evacuation.
The CTA has defended his actions, and Higgins said Wednesday that what is important is that he got everyone out safely.
Investigators plan to update the status of their probe to the public Friday afternoon.
Reprinted with permission from the Daily Herald