Not a good day for "green lines"

Boston:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/sns-ap-boston-train-accident,0,6241311.story

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NEWTON, Mass. - Two commuter trains collided during the evening rush hour outside Boston on Wednesday, hurting several passengers and trapping the seriously injured operator of one train, authorities said.

There were "multiple injuries" in the above-ground accident on the city's "T" system near a station in suburban Newton, said Joe Pesaturo, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

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There was no immediate word on the root cause of the crash, which occurred on a branch of the Green Line, part of the MBTA system serving greater Boston.

The Boston crash came just hours after an elevated train derailed in Chicago, sending several people to hospitals. Officials quickly blamed the derailment on operator error.

Chicago:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-train-derailment-web-may29,0,185486.story

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Errors by a 31-year CTA veteran caused the derailment of a Green Line train on the South Side Wednesday morning, CTA President Ron Huberman said.

The preliminary finding of operator error was based on the unidentified motorman taking the train through a red signal, Huberman said. Fourteen people were injured, but none of the injuries was believed to be serious, fire officials said.

The red signal indicated that the track switch at the junction ahead was not properly set for the train, which was bound for the East 63rd/Cottage Grove branch of the Green Line. A red signal, like a red traffic light, instructs the operator to stop.

The train operator proceeded anyway...

Bottom line:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-cta-derail-riders-web-may29,0,6156135.story

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'I just thank God it didn't fall off the edge.'
Passengers recall moments after CTA Green Line train derailed

"Everyone was screaming and hollering for their lives," Jackson said. "I just thank God it didn't fall off the edge. It was chaos. Everyone was hysterical."

He said it took about 5 minutes for police officers to arrive, and firefighters followed shortly after. The two women who fell appeared to have hurt an arm and a knee, respectively, and were taken off the elevated tracks in a fire department ladder basket, Jackson said. "The woman who hurt her arm was groaning," he said.