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11/20/2023
Last week's crash between a Chicago Transit Authority train and a railroad snow plow was caused by a "design issue," according to National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy.
The accident occurred Nov. 16 when the Yellow Line train collided with the snow-removal equipment on the same track near the Howard Station on Chicago’s north side. At a Nov. 18 press conference, Homendy told reporters the train’s braking distance should have been longer, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
The train was traveling 26.9 miles-per-hour when it hit the equipment on the track as employees conducted training for the winter season, Homendy said.
At that speed, the train was designed to stop within 1,78 feet of an object on its path, but didn’t.
"That’s essentially an old design," she said, according to the Sun-Times. Further NTSB investigation will be necessary before the agency can recommend design changes.