Federal investigators have determined the Chicago Transit Authority shares in the blame for an accident last year in which a commuter train operator fell asleep and crashed into a platform at the O’Hare airport station, sending the lead car barreling up an escalator.
The National Transportation Safety Board completed its investigation this past Tuesday and made nationwide safety recommendations, notably that all U.S. transit agencies consider the effects of operator fatigue when preparing employee schedules. The board also pressed for transit agencies to install new control systems that automatically apply a train’s brakes and prevent collisions if a driver fails to act, measures of which operators such as Metra have already made strides towards.
The Chicago derailment took place just before 3 a.m. on March 24, 2014; the exhausted driver was on her 12th straight day of work.
More than 30 passengers were hurt.
