Digest: CTA train derails, interrupting service to O’Hare Airport

More Tuesday morning rail news:

CTA train derails after striking tire, disrupting Blue Line service
A Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line train has derailed this morning near the Harlem Station in the city’s Norwood Park neighborhood, disrupting through service between downtown and O’Hare Airport. WBBM-TV reports service was halted about

5:15 a.m. between the Rosemont and Jefferson Park stations, but is still operating between O’Hare and Rosemont, as well as Jefferson Park and Forest Park. The train reported derailed after striking a vehicle tire on the tracks. No injuries were reported. The derailment occurred in an area where the tracks run in the median of Interstate 90.

Columbia, S.C., develops plans to realign downtown rail lines, roads

Columbia. S.C., is considering plans to realign rail and road routes to address longstanding traffic congestion in its downtown area, looking at options for an effort known as the Assembly Street Railroad Separation Project. The Charleston Post and Courier reports the project could close some grade crossings, use bridges for crossing separations at other locations, and consolidate some rail lines. State Department of Transportation planners are currently developing a list of proposals which would be presented to the public next year; the project could cost $400 million, with work unlikely to begin before 2024.

Ottawa may defer capital projects to maintain service

The transit agency for Ottawa, Ontario, will consider deferring capital projects to meet a COVID-19-related funding shortfall, while maintaining current levels of service. CTV News reports that plan, one of three under consideration, would defer $31.8 million in OC Transpo capital spending to 2022 or beyond, and could also defer another $30 million if needed. The two other plans to be considered at a Nov. 18 meeting of the city’s transit commission would rely on federal and provincial funds to cover the shortfall, or cut service by reducing frequencies or eliminating some service entirely.