Red means STOP!

South Shore train derails; 1 injured

Thousands on way to air show, jazz fest affected

BY BRIAN WILLIAMS
bwilliams@nwitimes.com
219.548.4348

BEVERLY SHORES | A South Shore passenger train derailed early Saturday morning, causing travel tie-ups but no major injuries.

A westbound passenger train that was pulled over onto a siding to let an eastbound freight train pass moved onto the main track without authorization about 5:35 a.m. and stuck the freight train about a mile east of Beverly Shores station.

The front two cars of the six-car passenger train derailed, sending one of the nine passengers to the hospital with minor injuries. Three crew members and another South Shore employee also were on the passenger train at the time of the collision.

The crash left thousands of riders heading to the Gary Air Show and Chicago's Jazz Festival stranded, as all South Shore service was shut down more than 11 hours. No trains ran from Chicago, as all other South Shore equipment was east of the crash site and blocked from service.

Passenger train No. 600 originated in Michigan City and was due into Chicago at 7 a.m.

The injured passenger was taken to St. Anthony Memorial Medical Center in Michigan City. The other passengers were returned to Michigan City.

The freight train, owned by SouthShore Freight Service, had a brake problem earlier in the morning and stopped on the South Shore main track, according to Gerald Hanas, general manager of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, which operates the South Shore.

The brake problem had been fixed and the train was able to resume its eastward journey, Hanas said.

To allow the two trains to pass at a location where there is only one through-travel track, the Chicago-bound passenger train had entered the siding just east of the Beverly Shores South Shore station.

As the freight train passed the siding, the passenger train entered the main line at a switch and collided with the side of the freight train, about four-fifths of the way along the 65-car train.

The freight train had clearance to proceed; the passenger train had not been cleared to rejoin the main line, Hanas said.

The crews of the two trains will be tested for drugs and alcohol. Results of those tests would be available Tuesday, Hanas said.

It was not known how fast either train was traveling. The trains' event recorders would be examined for details of the incident, Hanas said.

Fire broke out in the lead passenger car's battery box and charred a streak on the outside of the train. The fire was put out quickly within minutes of responders' arrival, said Assistant Chief Andy Himan, Jr., of Beverly Shores Fire Department.

NICTD is conducting the investigation of the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board, which has the option to investigate, has declined to, said NICTD Police Chief Robert Byrd.

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