Chicago Transit Authority officials said they'll use torches to cut a commuter train apart as they remove wreckage from an underground station after a derailment.
Thirty-two people were injured when an eight-car Chicago Transit Authority train continued through the end of the platform and struck the escalators leading to the terminals at O'Hare International Airport early Monday morning.
"The train actually climbed over the last stop, jumped up on the sidewalk and then went up the stairs and escalators," Chicago Fire Department Commissioner Jose Santiago said of the crash, which happened just before 3 a.m. on the CTA's Blue Line.
Christopher Bushell, the transit agency's chief infrastructure officer, says Monday's derailment means the O'Hare International Airport station will remain closed for at least "12 to 24 hours." An official with The National Transportation Safety Board, which took over the investigation, later said commuter access to the station would be prohibited until at least Tuesday afternoon.
Bushell said crews were inspecting the station's stairs and escalator, which received "significant damage" when the train plowed across a platform and scaled the escalator around 3 a.m. More than 30 people were hurt, but all of their injuries were considered non-life threatening.
Workers will disassemble the train and remove it on a flatbed.
Bushell said CTA inspectors were reviewing the train's video footage as well as information from the agency's signal systems.
Crews To Disassemble Derailed CTA Train
CTA officer said station will remain closed for at least "12 to 24 hours"
Copyright The Associated Press
