Railroad News
At Least 11 Injured in Amtrak/Metra Collision at Union Station
(Chicago, Illinois – June 3, 2011)
A departing Amtrak train and an arriving Metra train collided about 8:20 A.M. this morning at a railroad curve within the Chicago Union Station complex, injuring at least 11 passengers and derailing the first two cars of Metra train #1242.
The location was near Polk and Harrison streets, where the arrival/departure tracks run below the Chicago Central Post Office. Amtrak train #391, The Saluki, carrying 117 passengers and four crew members, headed for Carbondale, IL, collided with the inbound Metra train coming off the Burlington Northern suburban line and carrying about 1,500 people.
Numbers of injuries, which occurred on both trains, ranged from 9 to 12, including a woman nine months pregnant with twins.
