Blue Line Service Restored After Derailment

CHICAGO -- Service was restored Wednesday morning on the entire Blue Line following Tuesday's derailment and fire, although CTA officials said commuters should still allow for extra time.

"They're coming at 10 minute intervals, so service will be slower; it's not as frequent as it normally is," CTA spokeswoman Noel Gaffney said.

Early Wednesday morning, crews removed the train that derailed from the subway. The cars did not appear to be heavily damaged. However, the last car was covered in black soot, and some scarring on the metal exteriour was visible.

The train was taken from the tunnel to the Rosemont maintenance yard where it will be inspected.

Property left on the trains was being kept at the 1st District headquarters, located at 18th and State Streets. Cline said passengers could call (312) 745-4290 for more information about lost property, or just show up at the police station. The property will be kept through Wednesday.

'Foul Play' Not Cause Of Derailment

Chicago Police Superintendent Philip Cline said Tuesday there was no indication of "foul play" in connection with the derailment.

Cline added that the department's bomb and arson squad were still working with CTA officials.

Early Wednesday, officials said the tracks did not apear to be heavily damaged, but a cause for the derailment and fire had still not been determined.

CTA President Frank Kruesi said the National Transportation Safety Board had been contacted and was expected to investigate.

Hundreds Evacuated

The derailment, underground near the Loop on Tuesday evening, prompted the evacuation of hundreds of passengers.

The fire was reported just after 5 p.m. on a Blue Line train near 124 W. Lake St.

Around 6:30 p.m., a CTA official corrected an earlier report that a mechanical problem had caused smoke but no fire.

The official said there was a fire and a derailment that began at the rear of a train. Kruesi confirmed that the rear car of an eight-car train derailed.

"The underside of the car actually caught fire," Kruesi said, adding that the fire damaged the tracks, the third rail and signals.

The Blue Line train had just left the Clark/Lake station on its way to O'Hare, Kruesi said, and was in a deep part of the subway, almost past the Chicago River.

Fire crews from the city and suburbs were called to the scene.

A triage center was set up at the intersection of Clinton Street and Milwaukee Avenue. At least 152 train passengers were treated and transported to area hospitals, primarily for smoke inhalation. Most were in yellow or fair condition.

Hospitals that took in victims included Stroger, Mercy, Northwestern and Rush. Northwestern officials said two people were in critical condition, four were in serious condition, and 15 were in good to fair condition.

Kruesi said the CTA and the Chicago Fire Department conducted a drill three weeks ago that simulated a situation just like Tuesday's incident.

"This thing happened the way it was supposed to happen," Kruesi said.

A woman who was evacuated described what happened.

"I boarded the train at 5:10, and we made it here to Clark and Lake," the woman said. She said the power went out on the train, and CTA officials told passengers to evacuate to the platform.

"They didn't tell us exactly that there was a fire or anything, they just said we had a delay due to an emergency on the tracks ahead of us," she said.

"We just didn't know what was going on. The smoke was getting thicker, so we didn't know which way to go. It was really dark." - Evacuee

The woman said she smelled smoke underground but did not see any fire.

The woman said her daughter, who was on a train ahead of her, had to walk out on the tracks and suffered smoke inhalation.

NBC5's Phil Rogers reported that he saw at least four or five people were transported to the hospital from the Fulton Street and Milwaukee Avenue evacuation spot.

One woman on the train told Rogers what she witnessed.

"There was an explosion -- some people said they heard an explosion, and there were, like, really strange sounds and the El stopped and then there was just smoke pouring into it," said one woman. "So, we opened the doors and we couldn't see anything. There was just smoke and we were just walking, hoping that someone knew where to go.

"I think there was the car driver, in the lead of us, who was just directing us and we were just walking, trying to get out," she said. "I heard something -- I don't know if it was an explosion. I heard something that sounded like something skidding, almost, but it was really loud."

"We just didn't know what was going on. The smoke was getting thicker, so we didn't know which way to go. It was really dark," she said.

"The motorman and the people in the car did a wonderful job," said Chicago Fire Department Commissioner Raymond Orozco. "The motorman did his job -- his training paid off. Also, the people on the train did a job."

Commuters Struggle To Find Ways Home

NBC5's Charlie Wojciechowski reported that some commuters were frustrated by the wait they had to endure for a shuttle bus, and said they have not received enough information from CTA personnel.

"We're right here, there's no shuttle buses, there's no buses, there's nothing," one woman said.

"My friend and I are trying to get to the Western stop off of the Forest Park line," said another commuter. "We're waiting for a shuttle with 30 other annoyed people and it's taking forever. We've been waiting 15 to 20 minutes. We were over at Clark and Lake, and we're standing there, and then they moved the people going to O'Hare, so we thought we were going to wait there, then they moved us again to Wells, and nothing has come. The one guy who came by who looked remotely like he knew what was going on, when we approached him, walked away."

NBC5 producer Katy Moore arrived at the scene on her way home from work.

"They were telling people to get out, so I must have arrived just after it happened," Moore said. "Most people were pretty anxious ... and just moving around and nervous, and it turned to frustration and anger as they tried to figure out how they were going to get home."

Moore said it took about 30 minutes before she saw a CTA official directing commuters to a bus that could take them home.

Past Fires Have Hit CTA Train Lines

This is not the first fire to break out on CTA lines. NBC5 found there have been four other fires on CTA tracks in a little over a year. On Feb. 9, a small fire shut down Blue Line service in and out of O'Hare.

In September 2005, there was a track fire between Belmont and Fullerton that shut down the Red and Brown lines. In August 2005, Brown and Purple Line service was shut down after a fiew near the Sedgewick stop.

In mid-June, a fire near the Clinton station resulted in 30 Blue Line passengers being escorted from a subway tunnel walkway. Three of those passengers were sent to hospitals.