(The Chicago Sun-Times posted the following story by Robert C. Herguth on its website on October 15.)
CHICAGO — Track replacement at the site of Sunday’s Metra train derailment should be completed today, but maybe not early enough to stave off morning delays for Rock Island commuters.
“We’re looking pretty good. They’re going to be working on the tracks all night and by sometime [today] they should have the track restored,” Metra spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet said Tuesday. “I don’t know if they’ll have it fixed by the morning rush, but it is a possibility.”
If the track’s not ready by morning, “we’ll still have some delays but we won’t be cancelling any trains,” she said.
During Tuesday evening’s rush, Rock Island trains were 15 to 30 minutes late and two runs were canceled, said another Metra spokeswoman, Audrey Renteria.
Crews are replacing 560 feet of track damaged by the derailment of five passenger cars and two locomotives.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators still are probing the cause of the crash, which sent more than 40 people to hospitals.
They have said the train was traveling at more than 60 mph through a switching area that required 10 mph.
Investigators interviewed the engineer and at least one conductor Tuesday, an NTSB spokesman said. The engineer interview was “lengthy,” Pardonnet said.
Still unclear is whether human error, faulty signals or other factors were involved.