After 50 days of service disruption following a crash in November that left nearly two dozen people hospitalized, service on the CTA Yellow Line is expected to resume early Friday morning, the agency announced.
According to the CTA, Yellow Line trans will operate at the start of scheduled service on Friday morning at approximately 4:45 a.m., following a period of "comprehensive analysis and testing."
Over the past several days, test trains have ran along the line in various weather conditions in preparation for the reopening of the three-stop line.
The news of the line resuming service was welcome to riders, many of whom utilize the line as a quick link from Skokie to Chicago.
"It's like a Godsend to be able to ride that Yellow Line again," rider Edward Potash told NBC Chicago.
Another rider said the trains reopening was a "really big deal," while saying that he felt the train was safe.
"“I can understand how some people may still be uneasy possibly getting back on the train after an accident like that happened," rider Jeffrey Odom said.
The CTA said the following interim measures will be in place upon the reopening of the Yellow Line on Friday:
- Reduced Travel Speeds: Yellow Line trains will run at reduced speeds of 35 mph, down from 55 mph.
- Track Cleaning: Crews also have power-washed the Yellow Line, clearing debris and residue from the rail.
- Enhanced Operations Communications: CTA also added an extra layer of communication and protection, implementing what’s known as “manual blocking” on the rails for non-transport vehicles, such as snowplows and other heavy construction equipment. This is an operational control protocol that requires railcars and non-transport equipment to move only after receiving a verbal command from CTA’s Control Center
- Supervised Operations: Supervisory personnel will accompany operators on the first few Yellow Line runs.
The crash, which occurred on the morning of Nov. 16, left 38 people injured and went down as one of the worst crashes in the agency's history.
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The incident occurred when a southbound Yellow Line train traveling nearly 27 miles per hour collided with snow removal equipment on the tracks, with the train unable to stop in time due to the agency's braking system.
Following the news of the line's reopening, Clifford Law Offices, who are representing several of the injured passengers, released the following statement:
“Clifford Law Offices is conducting its own investigation to figure out exactly what happened regarding the Yellow Line crash in November. The NTSB concluded that the conductor was aware of equipment on the tracks as well as a design flaw, but there is still much to be learned about exactly what went wrong in this avoidable incident. The public remains in the dark, and the CTA needs to be more transparent so the passengers can have more confidence riding on the Yellow Line," the statement said.
The crash remains under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
