NTSB releases recommendations in CTA O'Hare crash investigation

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Investigators say a sleepy train operator and a badly designed braking system were the reasons a CTA Blue Line train roared past the end of the tracks at O'Hare Airport and up an escalator.

Monday, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded that Brittany Haywood, the CTA operator who was later fired, wasn't properly rested, that her alternating start schedule had left her fatigued and that the design of the O'Hare station didn't allow adequate emergency stopping distance.

"Our investigation uncovered that the layers of protection that were designed to prevent such an accident failed," said NTSB chairman Christopher Hart.

One of the safety board's key recommendations is that mass transit operations nationwide build science-based models to study employee fatigue, and then use that data to establish more rigid rules for proper rest. The CTA took steps in that direction after the accident.

"We actually limited the number of hours a train operator can work in a given day and we also increased the required time between shifts," says CTA spokesperson Brian Steele.

Trains used to enter O'Hare station at 25 miles per hour before slowing into their pockets. After the crash, the entry speed was lowered to a maximum of 15 miles per hour. Braking trip arms were repositioned to allow more emergency stopping distance. On Monday, the safety board recommended something more: that the CTA and other transit agencies install a more sophisticated emergency breaking system called "transmission based train control."

"Would the accident have been prevented if they had transmission based train control?" said Robert Sumwalt of the NTSB, "In my opinion, yes."

A more elaborate, system wide emergency braking system could cost tens of millions of dollars, making it financially impractical. The crash itself cost $11 million in property damage. The destroyed escalator has not yet been replaced.

CTA says the slow replacement of the escalator is because it's custom-built. The new one should be in place by late fall.

.