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Status Update
By NICTD - South Shore Line
ATTENTION:

"All South Shore train service has been suspended for most of the day because of an early morning accident on Interstate 90 involving a semi-truck that lost its load of steel on the tracks east of Gary Metro Station. No passenger trains were involved but there is extensive damage to our overhead wire and track.

South Shore maintenance crews have been dispatched to the scene"

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http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/illinoi...40718330a1.html

All South Shore service suspended Saturday after accident
3Print Email 2012-12-29T09:58:00Z 2012-12-29T09:59:03Z All South Shore service suspended Saturday after accidentTimes Staff nwitimes.com
1 hour ago • Times Staff(2) CommentsService on all South Shore commuter trains was suspended Saturday after an accident on Interstate 90 damaged the tracks in Gary.

According to Indiana State Police for the Toll Road, just before 5 a.m., a semi tractor-trailer jack-knifed on Interstate 90 and lost its load of steel coils. The coils rolled down the embankment, breaking the electrical lines and damaging the tracks below.

A passenger vehicle struck the semi after it jack-knifed. No one was injured in the crash, police said.

Snow was falling and the roads were icy at the time. Police said weather was a factor in the accident.

No South Shore trains were involved in the accident and no passengers were injured.

Updates on the outage are available on the NICTD Web site at www.nictd.com.

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The Times of Northwest Indiana
A NICTD spokesman says service on one track could be restored this afternoon.

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http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/illinoi...40718330a1.html

All South Shore service suspended Saturday after accident
Lauri Harvey Keagle lauri.keagle@nwi.com, (219) 852-4311

Crews are working to remove a beam and pole on South Shore tracks in Gary after a steel coil rolled off of a semi on the Indiana Toll Road early Saturday, halting all train service on the commuter rail line.

According to Indiana State Police for the Toll Road, just before 5 a.m., a tractor-trailer jack-knifed on Interstate 90 and lost its load of steel coils. The coils rolled down the embankment, breaking the electrical lines and damaging the tracks below.

A passenger vehicle struck the semi after it jack-knifed. No one was injured in the crash, police said.

Snow was falling and the roads were icy at the time. Police said weather was a factor in the accident.

No South Shore trains were involved in the accident and no passengers were injured.

John Parsons, spokesman for NICTD, said around 1 p.m. that crews were working to remove a damaged beam and catenary pole from the tracks.

"Once we get that beam out of the way, we can get a new catenary pole set and the beam replaced," Parsons said.

The catenary poles carry the electrical wires that power the trains. Parsons said he was hopeful the work will be complete sometime Saturday afternoon, allowing trains to run on one of the two sets of tracks at the scene of the damage.

The first track to run, Parsons said, will be westbound to Chicago.

"We have no trains in Chicago right now," Parsons said, saying the accident occurred after the last eastbound train left Chicago for South Bend at 12:45 a.m.

Parsons acknowledged the inconvenience for passengers but said he was thankful there were no injuries involved in the accident.

Updates on the outage are available on the NICTD Web site at www.nictd.com.

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http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=n...&id=8936004

South Shore trains resume schedule after truck crash | Full service restored Sunday
Sunday, December 30, 2012


December 29, 2012 ( GARY, Ind.) (WLS) -- Northern Indiana's South Shore commuter rail line suspended service for most of Saturday after a truck lost a load of steel on tracks near Gary.

South Shore resumed a full weekend schedule on Sunday. Service on some affected trains was resumed Saturday. Updates on specific routes can be found here: www.nictd.com/delays.html

Indiana State Police say a semi tractor-trailer jack-knifed on Interstate 90 about 5 a.m. Saturday, sending its load of steel coils rolled down an embankment. Those coils snapped electrical lines and damaged the tracks below.

NICTD says that no passenger trains were involved in the accident but caused a service suspension until emergency repairs could be made.

Police say roads were icy and it was snowing at the time of the crash. The Times of Munster reports that no one was injured.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

(Copyright ©2012 WLS-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

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http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/illinoi...40718330a1.html

December 29, 2012 7:53 pm • Times Staff
(20) Comments

More than 12 hours after a tractor-trailer incident halted South Shore train service, the commuter rail line started running again Saturday night.

According to Indiana State Police, just before 5 a.m., a tractor-trailer jack-knifed on Interstate 90 and lost its load of steel coils near the Gary Metro station. The coils rolled down the embankment, breaking electrical lines and damaging the tracks below.

A passenger vehicle struck the semi after it jack-knifed. No one was injured in the crash, police said.

Snow was falling and the roads were icy at the time. Police said weather was a factor in the accident.

No South Shore trains were involved.

John Parsons, spokesman for NICTD, said crews worked to remove a damaged beam and catenary pole from the tracks.

The catenary poles carry the electrical wires that power the trains.

By 6 p.m., the beam and pole were removed and crews continued to work to get new poles in place.

Parsons said electricity was to be restored in enough time for a westbound train to leave from Michigan City at 7:10 p.m.

Parsons said he expects a normal train schedule today.

He acknowledged the inconvenience for passengers but said he was thankful there were no injuries involved in the accident.

Updates on the outage are available on the NICTD website at www.nictd.com.