Yellow Line train crash caused by ‘design problem’ with braking syste…

The Chicago Transit Authority’s Yellow Line train crash was caused by a “design problem” involving the train’s braking system, according to federal investigators.

The passenger train that slammed into a “snow fighter” track-plowing train, hospitalizing 23 people on Thursday, had a stopping distance nearly 1,000 feet too short, said Jennifer Homendy, National Transportation Safety Board chair.

“It was in fact a design problem. The braking distance should have been longer,” Homendy said at a Saturday news conference. “They should have had 2,745 feet to stop that train.”

The train’s proper braking distance changes over time as trains gain weight and additional passengers, Homendy said. The train’s braking system is designed to halt movement in 1,780 feet, she said.

“It didn’t. So now we…