Green Line derailment caused by rails left unaligned after maintenance: CTA

Two CTA workers have been suspended for failing to realign tracks they worked on before the derailment.

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Chicago firefighters rescue CTA Green Line passengers from a derail train on June 6, 2019.

Thirty people were aboard a CTA Green Line train when a car jumped the track June 6 in the Bronzeville neighborhood.

Rich Hein/Sun-Times

A blunder by two CTA maintenance workers caused a Green Line derailment earlier this month on the South Side that required 30 passengers — some with sore necks and backs — be rescued from the elevated train cars by the fire department.

The workers moved a switch that left the tracks out of alignment, the CTA said. The workers were suspended 10 days without pay, placed on six months probation and given written warnings, according to the CTA.

A representative for Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308 did not return a message seeking comment.

The transit agency also faults a third person — the operator of the train, but declined to share details of the role the operator played because of an ongoing review.

”The operator has been off work since the incident. Final action related to the employee will occur when they return to work,” the statement said.

The southbound train derailed about 11 a.m. June 6 on the Green Line tracks north of 46th Street. Officials said only wheels on the train’s lead car slipped off the track.

Some passengers complained of minor back or neck pain, but no major injuries were reported.

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