NTSB reveals train operator had alcohol in system at time of 2023 Yellow Line crash – NBC Chicago

A National Transportation Safety Board report found that the CTA Yellow Line train operator was on duty at the time of the November 2023 accident that injured dozens of people.

According to the updated report, blood tests taken at a local hospital after the accident showed a blood alcohol content of 0.06, which is above the legal limit of 0.02 for train operators.

The report said the hospital test was an “unconfirmed clinical test” whose results were not intended to be used for legal purposes.

A urine test conducted later in the day only detected substances that had been administered to the operator after the accident, which was confirmed by review of post-accident medical records.

The accident occurred at around 10:30 a.m. on November 16, 2023, when a southbound Yellow Line train collided with a snow removal machine, injuring 38 people.

At the time of the crash, the sun was shining, conditions were clear and there was no precipitation, the report said.

The track on which the train was traveling was considered a “double main track” and the scene of the accident has a signaling system that operates at a stopping distance of 1,780 feet or less. The maximum permitted train speed at that time was 55 miles per hour.

“The passenger train was on a scheduled trip from Dempster Skokie Station to Howard Station. The operator was aware that the snow removal machine was being used as part of a training exercise on the Yellow Line, but did not know its exact location,” the report states. “Shortly before the collision, the southbound snow removal machine stopped approximately 370 feet north of a red signal. The passenger train was traveling southbound at approximately 54 miles per hour when the train driver received a stop order from the signaling system because the snow removal machine was stopped. The train driver immediately initiated emergency braking to stop the snow removal machine and initiated emergency braking before stopping the snow clearing machine started up. ” says an initial NTSB report published in December 2023.

According to the NTSB, the train's braking system was designed to slow trains at a rate of about 4.1 feet per square second under such conditions.

The report said investigators collected samples of “organic material from the top of the rails at the accident site” and that future investigative activities will focus on “the design and configuration of the CTA signaling system, the design and braking performance of the railcars.” Investigators gathered the people involved in the accident and examined organic material on the top of the running tracks to determine what impact, if any, this material had on the accident.

The organic material had been in question since the investigation began, along with a “design issue” with the train's braking system.

According to the event recorder's preliminary data, the train was traveling at a speed of 26.9 miles per hour when it was in the snow gear.

“We know that the CTA system anticipated snow equipment,” NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said last month. “It should be there. They knew it would be there. We also know from our calculations that this train was designed to stop within 1,780 feet that day…that was not the case. Now we had to find out why.”

Preliminary findings indicated that debris was present at the time and the train could not stop in time due to the authority's braking system.