CHARLOTTE — A Charlotte Area Transit System light rail train derailed early Tuesday morning.
It happened just after 2:30 a.m. on the Lynx Blue Line’s south yard rail track. CATS said it was a non-revenue train, which means no passengers were on board at the time.
According to CATS, at this point, the derailment appears to have been the result of an operator error. They said the operator failed to stop, leading the car to derail.
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The train was moving at less than 10 mph at the time of the incident and stayed upright throughout, CATS said.
The section of the track where the light rail car derailed is designed to transfer a rail vehicle from one track to another, CATS said. It happened while the train was switching tracks.
The track was restored to service by about 6:40 a.m. and the derailed train was removed, CATS said.
The transit system said the incident is under investigation by its safety division. The findings from that investigation will be reported to the North Carolina Department of Transportation State Safety Oversight Division.
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