CTA confirms signal pole that fell onto tracks was to blame for hours-long Red, Purple, Brown Line delay last week
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Chicago Transit Authority said Wednesday that an hours-long power outage on the Red, Brown, and Purple lines near the Belmont station was caused by a trackside signal pole that fell onto the tracks.
Police and the Office of Emergency Management and Communications pointed out that this had happened within a short time of the disruption on Thursday morning last week. But the CTA did not confirm the cause until Wednesday.
The CTA said the signal pole was hit by a train and fell onto the tracks, snagging service. The pole has since been repaired and is functioning properly, and the CTA has also reinspected all other signals nearby and has found no problems.
The delays caused a lot of people to have a rough morning on Thursday, as Red Line, Brown Line, and Purple Line Express trains were stopped at Belmont.
Brown Line service was suspended between Southport and Armitage for more than two hours. Red Line service was halted between Wilson and Fullerton for about five hours Purple Line Express trains were suspended during the morning rush Thursday.
Riders who opted for Uber or Lyft ran into huge price increases, with some people paying $50 to $80 to get from Lakeview to downtown. But Uber later announced it would refund riders for the extra surge money they paid.