If the Chicago Transit Authority's efforts at better-maintaining its tracks and preventing derailments is successful, as explained in a Chicago Tribune article, there will be less work for Chicago injury lawyers. Up until recently, the CTA relied on the use of large rulers and a good eye to make sure its 224-mile rail system was properly aligned.
A July 11, 2006 Blue Line derailment west of the Clark/Lake station prompted the National Transportation Safety Board to conclude that the CTA needed a better method of maintaining its tracks. That accident resulted in the hospitalization of 150 passengers.
Now, the agency is using a device that looks like a pickup truck mounted on railroad wheels. But the so-called "brain box," consisting of lasers and multiple high-tech diagnostic gear, is a sophisticated piece of machinery that inspects each of the network's 14.2 million inches of track annually.
The manual, low-tech process of inspecting the tracks required years of experience and often overlooked potentially dangerous flaws. But even then, certain aspects of track conditions cannot be checked manually. John Herndobler, the CTA manager of track and civil engineering, explains:
"You learn from the testing whether the rails are going to move laterally, which obviously would be a bad thing to have happen. [But] I've never seen a track inspector who can kick the rail with 3,000 pounds of force."
Federal investigators blamed the 2006 derailment on broken or badly corroded lag screws and other fasteners, which were overlooked by the CTA track inspectors. The NTSB also found that paperwork filed by track inspectors often went missing or were falsified.
Fortunately the investment in new technology seems to be paying off. Better yet, no track-gauge problems were found this year; and knowing that a sensitive and consistent machine is doing the work instead of eyeballs should give CTA riders more confidence.
However, if you have questions about any injuries that may have been sustained because of a derailment, you should contact a Chicago accident attorney.
Related Resources:
- Proving Fault: What is Negligence? (FindLaw)
- New Law Derails CTA Notice Requirement (FindLaw's KnowledgeBase)
- Find a Chicago Accident Attorney (FindLaw)
