14 slightly hurt as Green Line car derails at S. Side junction

Fourteen passengers were taken to hospitals with minor injuries after a northbound CTA Green Line train car derailed Saturday on the elevated tracks on the South Side.

CTA spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney said the train derailed about 11:55 a.m. at the 59th Street junction, where the Ashland Branch meets the East 63rd Street Branch.

The junction also was the site of a derailment in May 2008. That derailment, involving a southbound train, also sent 14 passengers to the hospital with minor injuries. The National Transportation Safety Board has yet to conclude its investigation in that case, the preliminary finding was operator error.

The CTA was investigating the cause of Saturday's derailment, Gaffney said. Only one car of the six-car train left the track, and it remained upright, firefighters said.

The first set of wheels on the first car derailed at the point where the train goes around a curve on its way north, Gaffney said.

There were two operators on the train rather than one, because of ongoing track work, she said. In the front was a female operator with 5½ years of experience, and in the back, a male operator with 3½ years of experience. Both were being interviewed and drug-tested, she said.

Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said firefighters helped 48 people off the train and down a CTA stairway. Those taken to local hospitals had bumps and bruises, and the rest of the passengers refused treatment, he said.

Afterward the derailment, service between the Garfield and 63rd Street/Cottage Grove stations was provided by shuttle buses. The train was moved by 4:15 p.m., and service restored by 5 p.m.