Commuter train derails, starts fire

CHICAGO – A train derailed and started a fire during the evening rush hour Tuesday, filling a subway tunnel with smoke and forcing dozens of soot-covered commuters to evacuate while critically injuring at least two, officials said. Terrorism was not suspected.

Evacuations began after the last car of an eight-car commuter train slipped off the tracks and material beneath the train caught fire, said Chicago Transit Authority President Frank Kruesi. Passengers were moved to safety within an hour.

Raymond Orozco, fire commissioner, said that 152 passengers were taken to hospitals. Many were in good or fair condition, officials said, but at least one hospital reported two patients in critical condition.

The train had just left the downtown Clark and Lake station shortly after 5 p.m. when the operator realized there was a problem and stopped the train, Kruesi said. The operator called for power to the train to be cut, then led passengers out of the cars and through the smoky subway tunnel to an emergency exit, where they climbed to the street above.

“This thing happened the way it’s supposed to happen,” he said. Kruesi praised the operator, who led passengers out of the tunnel holding hands in a single-file line.