Questions Remain After Debris Fell From 'L' Tracks
CHICAGO (CBS) -- CTA investigators are still looking into what caused a Loop "L" train to derail Tuesday.
CBS 2's Derrick Blakley reports both the morning and evening rush were back to normal Wednesday but there was nothing normal about the shower of steel that fell around 6:45 Tuesday evening.
"I was walking down the street right here and a train went past, it sounded like some of the track was loose and then, all of a sudden, I guess, something fell," said pedestrian Rick Urso.
CTA officials say, when a northbound Orange Line train came off the tracks, it knocked loose dozens of steel fasteners that showered the streets.
"I started seeing all the debris falling from the tracks, all the way down the street," said motorist Joseph Williams.
What fell were steel fasteners that slide into brackets which hold the tracks in place. The CTA says it's rare for them to detach during a derailment, but they did.
"The CTA professional informed us that the train wasn't running and there'd been a derailment and I was like what are all these links, and he said, that's what's holding the track together," said CTA passenger Mary Lutz.
The falling steel caused no injuries and neither did the derailment. Still, the news made some passengers uneasy.
"It could bring a little discomfort. There's a little bit of concern thinking in those terms," said CTA passenger Howard Frazes.
The CTA is interviewing the train operator, as well as checking video cameras along the rail line for clues to what caused the train to jump the tracks.
About 500 trains travel through this junction at LaSalle and Van Buren each day.
