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.
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