O'Hare station train crash
| O'Hare station train crash | |
|---|---|
The crashed train atop the escalator | |
| Details | |
| Date | March 24, 2014 2:50 a.m. CDT |
| Location | O'Hare station, at Chicago O'Hare International Airport |
| Coordinates | 41°58′52″N 87°54′03″W / 41.98111°N 87.90083°W |
| Country | United States |
| Line | CTA Blue Line |
| Operator | Chicago Transit Authority |
| Incident type | Overran bumper |
| Cause | Operator falling asleep at controls |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 1 |
| Injured | 34 |
| Damage | $11,196,796 |
On March 24, 2014, a Chicago "L" train crashed at O'Hare station, injuring 34 people. A Blue Line train entering the station, the line's terminus, crashed into a bumper block and ran up an escalator after the operator fell asleep at the controls. The crash caused over $11 million in damage and halted service to O'Hare station for 6 days.
The National Transportation Safety Board's investigation of the crash found that the train operator was affected by sleep debt from insufficient sleep over the course of multiple days. In its final report on the crash, the NTSB criticized the Chicago Transit Authority's scheduling policies, which it found contributed to train operators becoming fatigued. Additionally, the NTSB found that the train stop system at O'Hare station was incorrectly configured. The CTA responded by revising its scheduling policies and reconfiguring train stops at terminal stations throughout the "L" system.