O'Hare Blue Line Station Shut Down By Derailment Reopens

(STMW) --The O'Hare station of the Chicago Transit Authority's Blue Line reopened about 2 p.m. Sunday, less than a week after a train rolled through the stop and kept going — onto the platform and up an escalator and stairs, authorities said.

The CTA took to Twitter just before 2 p.m., noting: "Service on the Blue Line has resumed at O'Hare, following station repairs to damage caused by a derailment. Trains are making all stops."

The cause of the early Monday morning crash is under investigation, but the train's operator admitted she nodded off before the before the wreck that sent 32 people to local hospitals, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Five negligence lawsuits have been filed against the CTA in connection with the crash.

Ted Turpin, an NTSB investigator Ted Turpin, said last week the operator "admitted she dozed off prior to entering the [O'Hare] station" and "woke up when she hit close to the end of the bumper." The CTA announced earlier this week it was taking some new safety steps at the station. As a "precautionary measure," it is lowering the speed limit of trains entering the O'Hare station from 25 mph — the speed at which the train was traveling — to 15 mph.

In addition, trip switches that are supposed to stop a train from traveling above that speed will be moved farther back on the track so they engage earlier, the CTA said.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)