CTA trains have resumed normal operations after a Yellow Line Skokie Swift train derailed Thursday during the busy evening rush hour commute, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded in a chaotic scene and multiple lines suspended for hours.
The incident unfolded about 5:30 p.m., CTA said, after a Yellow Line train approaching the Howard station in the city’s Roger’s Park neighborhood derailed. The derailment drew a large emergency response, with video and photos from the scene showing dozens of officials on the tracks.
Aerial video showed dozens of officials on the tracks surrounding a train that appeared to be partially derailed.
Service on the Yellow, Purple and Red CTA lines were shut down for hours, with some shuttle buses provided. By 11:34 p.m., service on the Yellow Line had resumed, CTA said.
Closer to midnight, all other lines were back up and running, CTA confirmed. As of Friday morning, all lines were operating with regular service.
CTA passengers on the train when it derailed told NBC Chicago they had to wait as long as two hours before they were able to evacuate.
“We were literally 250 feet from the platform when the power went down,” one passenger told NBC Chicago.
“It’s been a long day,” another said. “We just want to get home.”
CTA did not immediately provide more details about the derailment, or the circumstances surrounding it.
In 2023, a CTA Yellow Line train derailed in the same area after officials said the train struck a CTA snow plow train in the rail yard. The crash left 38 people injured.
