![](\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/app\/uploads\/2023\/11\/AP23320669705155-580x387.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/app\/uploads\/2023\/11\/AP23320669705155-scaled.jpg\")
<\/div>\nCHICAGO (AP) \u2013 Federal safety officials investigating a Chicago commuter train crash that injured nearly 40 people when it slammed into snow-removal equipment are focusing on a \u201cdesign problem\u201d with its braking system.<\/p>\n
National Transportation Safety Board Chairperson Jennifer Homendy said the Chicago Transit Authority train was traveling at 26.9 mph (43.3 kilometers per mile) on Thursday when it struck the snow-removal equipment, which was on the tracks conducting training for the winter season.<\/p>\n
She said that based on preliminary information she believes that equipment, with six CTA workers onboard, was stopped when the train crashed into it.<\/p>\n
Homendy said NTSB`s initial calculations based on the train`s speed and other factors such as the number of passengers on board indicate it was designed to stop within 1,780 feet (542.5 meters) to avoid something its path. But that didn`t happen, and it crashed into the snow-removal equipment.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur team was able to determine that it was in fact a design problem. The braking distance should have been longer,\u201d she said Saturday during a briefing with reporters, adding that a \u201cbrand new\u201d system on the same tracks would have had 2,745 feet (837 meters) to stop to avoid a crash.<\/p>\n
Homendy said NTSB investigators are \u201cvery focused on the design issue and the braking and why the train didn\u2019t stop.\u201d She said they are also reviewing CTA\u2019s braking algorithm to determine whether or not it is sufficient.<\/p>\n
Investigators know the train`s wheels were slipping as the conductor was braking the train prior to the impact and they have found thick, black \u201cdebris residue\u201d on the tracks that are still being assessed, she said.<\/p>\n
Homendy said the NTSB has determined there was nothing wrong with CTA\u2019s signal system and how it communicated with the train, but again cautioned that is a preliminary finding that could change.<\/p>\n
CTA data shows that during November there have been 50 other times when its trains have had to slow down due to other equipment stopped on the tracks ahead, and none of those resulted in a crash, Homendy said.<\/p>\n
She said investigators cannot say yet whether other CTA trains might also have similar braking system issues, but she stressed that CTA\u2019s system is safe.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would take the train tonight, tomorrow. I have no safety concerns about taking the train,\u201d Homendy said, noting that 43,000 Americans die in motor vehicle crashes each year.<\/p>\n
In Thursday`s crash, the CTA train was heading south from Skokie when it rear- ended the snow-removal equipment on Chicago`s North Side. Thirty-eight people were hurt; 23 were taken to area hospitals. No one suffered life-threatening injuries, officials said.<\/p>\n
Photo: Chicago Fire Department and Chicago Police Department personnel triage patients work the scene after a Chicago Transit Authority train crashed into a piece of equipment that was on the rails near the Howard CTA station on the North Side, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023 in Chicago. (Ashlee Rezin \/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)<\/em><\/p>\n Was this article valuable?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n