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Foul Play Not Reason Trains Were Off Track

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The Associated Press

Published: October 4, 2007

CHICAGO - Twin derailments of commuter trains this week were accidents and unrelated to suspected sabotage along the same line last week, authorities said Wednesday.

Metra determined that heavy vehicular and train traffic caused a slight separation between the tracks, leading to Tuesday night's derailments of the slow-moving trains near a busy crossing. The cars remained upright, and no injuries were reported.

'We can say with absolute certainty there was no foul play involved, no tampering to any extent,' Metra spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet said. 'It was a strange situation where two trains derailed on two separate tracks at the same location.'

Both trains, which together were carrying about 460 passengers, were removed by early Wednesday, and normal service was restored for morning rush.

The FBI is still offering a $50,000 reward for information on the removal of about 30 railroad spikes on a different stretch of the same line, discovered last week by Metra workers.

'The removal of spikes, in our opinion, was an intentional act,' FBI spokesman Ross Rice said.

The Metra commuter rail system serves Chicago's suburbs and carries trains from northern Indiana's South Shore Line.

It is separate from the Chicago Transit Authority, which runs trains primarily in the city and has had recent safety concerns. A derailment of a subway train in July 2006 injured more than 150 people.

Last month, federal regulators announced that a seriously flawed inspection and maintenance program likely played a major role in the CTA derailment. The CTA has said it had already implemented many of the federal report's recommendations.

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