A CTA union chief said the operator of a train that jumped the platform at O'Hare International Airport "was extremely tired" and "indications are she might have dozed off."
"She worked a lot of hours," said Robert Kelly, head of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308.
The eight-car train was headed into the O'Hare station shortly before 3 a.m. when it jumped the platform and scaled up an escalator, injuring more than 30 people on board. None of the injuries were considered life-threatening.
Monday afternoon, more than 12 hours after the crash, the train remained atop the escalator at the end of the track. Transit officials declined to discuss how or when they would dismantle the wreckage, but Blue Line service to O'Hare will be halted at least until Tuesday.
"The train is not going to go anywhere for the foreseeable future," said Tim DePaepe, a railroad accident investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board. "It's not going anywhere today. We need to examine the train and the position it's in prior to its movement."
Trains continue to run between Forest Park and Rosemont, where passengers can catch a shuttle to the airport. Large, articulated buses are operating on a load-and-go basis instead of a schedule, adding 5 to 10 minutes to the typical airport trip, officials said.
The system appeared to be running smoothly this morning, as riders were never left waiting for shuttles and CTA workers were on hand to point people toward the appropriate buses. The system will remain in place until the NTSB allows removal of the train, transit officials said.
"We're sensitive to the service needs of the CTA," DePaepe said. "But we have to do our documentation first."
More than 30 people were hurt in the early morning crash, though none of the injuries was considered life-threatening.
Initial inspections indicate that the train's front two cars were damaged as well as the escalator, officials said. The stairs and the structure beneath them appear to be in good shape.
"Once we remove the train, we'll have a much clearer picture of what the issues are there," said Chris Bushell, chief infrastructure officer for the CTA. "At this moment, it looks like we have significant damage to one escalator."
Unlike other American rail lines, the CTA does not have an automated system in place to stop trains as they approach a station or other points along the track. DePaepe, however, said he did not fault the city for failing to have the upgraded service.
"Transits are strapped," he said. "There are systems that do stop trains, but usually it's about money. The transit agencies do the best they can with what they have."
The train operator remains in the hospital after suffering minor injuries to her leg and has not yet been interviewed, he said. She reported to work around 8:45 p.m. Sunday night. Officials refused to provide any other information about her employment history.
Federal authorities will looking into her work schedule, her activities in the week leading up to the crash and her medical background as part of their investigation, DePaepe said. She also will undergo routine drug and alcohol testing per the agency's protocol.
The accident happened during one of the station's lightest traffic times.
"I heard a boom and when I got off the train, the train was all the way up the escalator. It's a wreck," Denise Adams, who was riding toward the back of the train, told reporters. "It was a lot of panic because it was hard to get people off the train."
Adams said she was shocked to see the trains cars stacked up the escalator. "The train is messed up, all the way up," she said. "I was going to get on the first car, but I changed my mind."
Of the injured, six people were listed in fair-to-serious condition and 26 in good-to-fair condition, fire officials on the scene said. Nine were transported to Resurrection Hospital, eight each went to Our Lady of the Resurrection Medical Center and Swedish Covenant Hospital, and seven went to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.
Douglas Propp, an emergency room doctor at Lutheran General, said the patients taken there ranged in age from 38 and 72 and were treated for headaches, neck pain, whiplash and knee injuries from being thrown around the train cars.
He said many appeared to suffer from emotional distress.
"As you might expect, someone who's been in a train accident is worried about the worst," Propp said. "They came here, we reassured them, we evaluated them."
As crews investigated the crash early this morning, an annoyed customer approached crime scene tape and said he had a flight to catch. The train tracker above the station still showed an outbound train was due in two minutes.
An officer paused before speaking, with a slight smirk and dry delivery: "Well, a train derailed. It doesn't happen every day, sir."
pnickeas@tribune.com | Twitter: @PeterNickeas