Why the Skokie Swift remains closed

Good morning, Chicago.

Ombre West usually takes the Yellow Line as part of her commute to Oakton Community College in Skokie. But the train line has been shut down since a crash on the tracks sent nearly two dozen people to hospitals, leaving West and other commuters to rely on replacement shuttle buses or alternate ways of getting around.

West, 20, estimated the shuttles have added an hour to her trip from her home in Evanston to school in the neighboring suburb.

More than two weeks after the mid-November crash on the tracks, the three-stop line that runs from Rogers Park to Skokie, also known as the Skokie Swift, remains closed as federal regulators investigate CTA equipment design and outside conditions, and the CTA reviews operations on the line.

The closure has frustrated commutes for riders trying to get to their homes, work and school, who instead must rely on the free shuttle buses the CTA is running to replace train service, or find other transportation. And it has left questions for riders and those who were injured about why the train failed to stop before slamming into a snowplow on the tracks, and whether the crash could have been prevented.

It is the latest challenge for CTA President Dorval Carter, who has been in the hot seat as riders complained in recent years about unreliable service, conditions on trains and buses and concerns about personal safety.

Read the full story from the Tribune’s Sarah Freishtat.

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