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14 passengers hurt when train hits post in Chicago

Six were taken to a hospital with minor injuries after the train hit a “bumping post;" the accident was weather-related

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Commuters arrive at the La Salle Street commuter rail station as they experience temperatures well below zero and wind chills expected to reach 40 to 50 below, Monday, Jan. 6, 2014, in Chicago. (Image AP/Charles Rex Arbogast)

The Associated Press

CHICAGO — A rail official says 14 passengers were injured when a commuter train hit a “bumping post” at a downtown Chicago station, the second such accident of the day.

Michael Gillis is a spokesman for Metra, the suburban Chicago commuter rail service.

Gillis says six passengers were taken to a hospital with minor injuries Monday after the Rock Island District line train from Joliet hit the “bumping post” at the end of the LaSalle Street platform.

The accident happened around 8:45 a.m. A less serious incident occurred at the same station around 6:15 a.m., but no passengers were injured.

Gillis says the agency is investigating what caused the incidents; authorities have indicated they were weather-related.

All Metra trains are being told to enter downtown stations at “walking speed.”