Blue Line derails at ORD
 

http://my.chicagotribune.com/#sectio.../p2p-79707827/

I was on that escalator Thursday. Had this happened during a busy time, there would be dozens dead.

Agree. I'm in that front car every week headed to ORD. This week I happen to be home. Your right though four hours later that escalator is packed with people. It must have been flyin' down the tracks. Imagine the horror of those in the front cars.

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Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

I heard this news around 5AM - totally stunned as a regular user of Blue Line.

Very fortunate that this happened at 3AM, though sad in every other way. I hope they recover and repair/rebuild fast.

With modern technology, I am surprised that speeds are not capped once the train enters the terminal area. Why are they left to the operator? Relying on mechanical obstacles to stop a train seems so 19th century.

Looking at the pictures gives me nightmares. A train does not belong on the escalator. It could have been much worse.

There is one very small upside: In the past when the O'Hare station was closed, the shuttle buses were free. That means that you will pay your fare at the next station (Rosemont in this case). That also means you'll avoid paying the O'Hare tourist tax -- the fare at Rosemont is $2.25 rather than $5.

Agree with others - very lucky that no one is more seriously injured/dead - that escalator is often packed full of people (with long lines waiting to get on).

I am coming home to ORD this afternoon and had planned to take the Blue Line home. I may stop by the station to see if the car is removed; but, I think I'll pay for a taxi over the shuttle bus to Rosemont they have temporarily arranged.

Glad that the accident wasn't worse and that it was at an off-peak time.

I'm a rather frequent user of the ORD Blue Line too. I sometimes even use the train to get back from the city to the Hilton ORD at 2-4 a.m. [For years, I used to make sure to have a PDF of the Blue Line schedule so that I could take the train back to the airport at those kind of hours.]

Hopefully it won't be too many weeks until they can stop shuttling people from the Rosemont station to the airport and can resume service on the track.

Yes, that's a minor upside but only for inbound travelers. Frankly I think I'd rather pay the $5 than mess with a shuttle bus.

You think it might be weeks? I'd guess the Blue Line will be up and running to ORD by next Monday morning, if not before.

Transit union official said the driver might have fallen asleep.

On the other hand, it saves me the trouble of taking a detour via Pace to save $3.

The latest quote from officials is that the station will be closed for "the foreseeable future", as they still have no idea when they can cut the car up and remove it from the station (initial estimates said 12-24 hours, guessing they're still investigating). No idea what that means, but I'm flying home on the 31st -- does anyone know where the CTA shuttles are picking up? I would cab it but the Kennedy at 9AM sounds even worse.

At the bus/shuttle center, of course.
Just go down to the same corridor you would go to get to the train station, but instead of going to the train station, go to one of the two elevator centers that have this sign painted on the wall. Then take an elevator up one floor.

I think people are exaggerating the inconvenience factor. This is going to add at most 10 minutes to your trip. In the past, they have used the articulated buses (like two buses glued together) that have plenty of room. You just sit down and the bus takes you to the entrance of the Rosemont train station which is really a short drive away. No way would I pay an extra $50 for a cab. Yes, it's more trouble than directly getting on a train, but it's really not that big a deal.

Here's another wider picture of the other elevator center that will take you to the Bus/Shuttle Center. If you are familiar with the airport, you can also walk directly to the Bus/Shuttle Center from the baggage claim level, but you have to walk across the roadways and I really can't describe the path from memory. It's the same place where all of the hotel shuttles pick you up.

Video of the accident:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elMXt00xyIU

I don't know if it would be more than a week -- I would guess that it depends on how long until the investigators are confident that they have got all the data they need and can test their data for various things and don't think there is a hazard for common use of the area at ORD. Hopefully, it won't be too many weeks until they can stop shuttling people on buses between the Rosemont stop and ORD. If it's less than a week, all the better.

On previous occasions where I've had to be shuttled from the CTA stop to ORD -- even from just nearby Rosemont -- on CTA provided replacement buses, the delay has cost me up to twenty minutes. For me that 20 minute difference or even a 10 minute variance could mean a missed flight.

The escalator look like its toast, but I read somewhere that the other one looked ok as did the steps.

If true, once they remove the train they should be able to set the one remaining escalator for "up" and have people use the steps to go down. Hopefully, no biggie. Or even just use the steps for all traffic. They're no longer than those at the many stations that lack escalators.