Chicago "L"

Chicago 'L'
A Green Line train approaching Randolph/Wabash.
Overview
Locale	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Transit type	Rapid transit
Number of lines	8
Number of stations	144
Daily ridership	640,000 (approx. weekday)
Chief executive	Richard Rodriguez
Website	transitchicago.com
Operation
Began operation	June 6, 1892
Operator(s)	Chicago Transit Authority
Technical
System length	106.1 mi (170.8 km)
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Minimum radius of curvature	90 feet (27,432 mm)
Electrification	Third rail, 600 V DC
Top speed	55 mph (89 km/h)
System map

The 'L' (sometimes called "L", El, EL, or L) is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs. It is operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). It is the second largest rapid transit system in the United States, after the New York City Subway, and the third busiest rail mass transit system in the United States, after New York City and Washington, DC's Metrorail. Chicago's 'L' is one of only four heavy-rail systems in the United States (CTA, MTA, PATH and the PATCO Speedline) that provide 24-hour service on at least some portions of their systems. The oldest section of the 'L' started operating in 1892, making it the second-oldest rapid transit system in the Americas after New York. The 'L' has been credited with helping create the densely built-up city core that is one of Chicago's distinguishing features.

The 'L' consists of eight rapid transit lines laid out in a spoke-hub distribution paradigm focusing transit toward a central loop. Although the 'L' gained its nickname because large parts of the system are elevated, only 56.4 miles (90.8 km) of the 106.1-mile (170.8 km) system is elevated. Of the remainder, 35 miles (56.3 km) of it are at grade, and 11.4 miles (18.3 km) are underground.

On average 658,524 people ride the 'L' each weekday, 419,258 each Saturday, and 315,240 each Sunday. Annual ridership for 2006 was 195.2 million, the highest since 1993. However, the CTA multiplies actual riders by roughly 1.2 to count riders who transfer between lines, putting the total number of riders at about 162.7 million. In a 2005 poll, Chicago Tribune readers voted it one of the "seven wonders of Chicago," behind the lakefront and Wrigley Field but ahead of Willis Tower, the Water Tower, the University of Chicago, and the Museum of Science and Industry.

History

Intramural Railway 1893

The 'L' in 1921

The first 'L', the Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Railroad, began revenue service on June 6, 1892, when a small steam locomotive pulling four wooden coaches carrying a total of twenty seven men and three women departed the 39th Street station and arrived at the Congress Street Terminal 14 minutes later, over tracks still used by the Green Line. Over the next year service was extended to 63rd Street and Stony Island Avenue, then the entrance to the World's Columbian Exposition in Jackson Park.

Later in 1893 trains began running on the Lake Street Elevated Railroad and in 1895 on the Metropolitan West Side Elevated, which had lines to Douglas Park, Garfield Park (since replaced), Humboldt Park (since demolished), and Logan Square. The Metropolitan was the United States' first non-exhibition rapid transit system powered by electric traction motors, a technology whose practicality had been previously demonstrated on the "intramural railway" at the world's fair. Two years later the South Side 'L' introduced multiple-unit control, in which several or all the cars in a train are motorized and under the control of the operator, not just the lead unit. Electrification and MU control remain standard features of most of the world's rapid transit systems.

A drawback of early 'L' service was that none of the lines entered the central business district. Instead trains dropped passengers at stub terminals on the periphery due to a state law requiring approval by neighboring property owners for tracks built over public streets, something not easily obtained downtown. This obstacle was overcome by the legendary traction magnate Charles Tyson Yerkes, who went on to play a pivotal role in the development of the London Underground and was immortalized by Theodore Dreiser as the ruthless schemer Frank Cowperwood in The Titan (1914) and other novels. Yerkes, who controlled much of the city's streetcar system, obtained the necessary signatures through cash and guile—at one point he secured a franchise to build a mile-long 'L' over Van Buren Street from Wabash Avenue to Halsted Street, extracting the requisite majority from the pliable owners on the western half of the route, then building tracks chiefly over the eastern half, where property owners had opposed him. The Union Loop opened in 1897 and greatly increased the rapid transit system's convenience. Operation on the Yerkes-owned Northwestern Elevated, which built the North Side 'L' lines, began three years later, essentially completing the elevated infrastructure in the urban core although extensions and branches continued to be constructed in outlying areas through the 1920s.

1922 vintage 'L' cars

After 1911, the 'L' lines came under the control of Samuel Insull, president of the Chicago Edison electric utility (now Commonwealth Edison), whose interest stemmed initially from the fact that the trains were the city's largest consumer of electricity. Insull instituted many improvements, including free transfers and through routing, although he did not formally combine the original firms into the Chicago Rapid Transit Company until 1924. He also bought three other Chicago electrified railroads, the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad, Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad, and South Shore interurban lines, and ran the trains of the first two into downtown Chicago via the 'L' tracks. This period of relative prosperity ended when Insull's empire collapsed in 1932, but later in the decade the city with the help of the federal government accumulated sufficient funds to begin construction of two subway lines to supplement and, some hoped, permit eventual replacement of the Loop elevated.

The State Street subway was completed in 1943; the Dearborn subway, work on which was suspended during World War II, opened in 1951. The subways were constructed with a secondary purpose of serving as bomb shelters, the closely spaced support columns are evidence of this (a plan to replace the entire elevated system with subways was also proposed with this intent as well). The subways bypassed a number of tight curves and circuitous routings on the original elevated lines (Milwaukee trains, for example, originated on Chicago's northwest side but entered the Loop at the southwest corner), speeding service for many riders.

By the 1940s the financial condition of the 'L,' and of Chicago mass transit in general, had become too precarious to permit continued private operation, and the necessary steps were taken to enable public takeover. In 1947 the Chicago Transit Authority acquired the assets of the Chicago Rapid Transit Company and the Chicago Surface Lines, operator of the city's streetcars. Over the next few years the CTA modernized the 'L,' replacing antiquated wooden cars with new steel ones and closing lightly used branch lines and stations, many of which had been spaced only a quarter mile apart.

Shortly after its takeover of the 'L', the CTA introduced an express service known as the A/B skip-stop service. Under this service, trains were designated as either "A" or "B" trains, and stations were alternately designated as "A" or "B", with heavily-used stations designated as "AB". "A" trains would only stop at "A" or "AB" stations, and "B" trains would only stop at "B" or "AB" stations. Station signage carried the station's skip-stop letter and was also color-coded by skip-stop type; "A" stations had red signage, "B" stations had green signage, and "AB" stations had blue signage. The system was designed to speed up lines by having trains skip stations with fewer passengers while still allowing for frequent service at the heavily-used "AB" stations. The CTA first implemented A/B skip-stop service on the Lake Street Line (now part of the Green Line) in 1948, and the service proved effective as travel times were cut by a third. By the 1950s, the service was being used throughout the system. All lines used the A/B skip-stop service between the 1950s and the 1990s with the exception of the Evanston and Skokie lines, which were too short to justify skip-stop service. Also, the Congress and Douglas branches of what later became the Blue Line were designated as "A" and "B" respectively, as were the Englewood ("A") and Jackson Park ("B") branches of what later became the Green Line, so individual stops were not skipped while trains were serving those branches. As time went by, the time periods in which skip-stop service was used were gradually decreased, as the waits at "A" and "B" stations became increasingly long during non-peak service. By the 1990s, use of the A/B skip-stop system was only justified during rush hour due to service reductions. Also another situation was that trains skipping stations to save time, could not pass the train that was directly in front of it so skipping stations was not advantageous in all regards. In 1993, the CTA began the elimination of skip-stop service when it switched the southern branches of the Red and Green Lines; after this point, Green Line trains stopped at all stations, and Red Line trains stopped at all stations south of Harrison. The elimination of A/B skip-stop service continued with the opening of the all-stop Orange Line and the conversion of the Brown Line to all-stop service. On April 28, 1995, the A/B skip-stop system was completely eliminated with the transfer of the O'Hare branch of the Blue Line and the Howard branch of the Red Line to all-stop service. The removal of skip-stop service resulted in some slight increases in travel times on some parts of the system but greatly increased ridership at former "A" and "B" stations.

The first air-conditioned cars were introduced in 1964 and the last pre-World War II cars retired in 1973. New lines were built in expressway medians, the Congress branch replacing the Garfield Park 'L' in 1958 and the Dan Ryan branch opening in 1969, followed by the first Kennedy Expressway extension in 1970.

The 'L' today

Jackson / State Street subway stop on the Red Line

'L' ridership has increased steadily in recent years. Ridership had been remarkably stable for nearly 40 years after the CTA takeover despite declining mass transit usage nationwide, with an average of 594,000 riders boarding each weekday in 1960 and 577,000 in 1985. Due to the Loop Flood in 1992, ridership was at 418,000 that year because the CTA was forced to suspend operation for several weeks in the State and Dearborn subways, used by the most heavily traveled lines.

Although ridership is healthy and growth continues, it has not been uniformly distributed. Use of North Side lines are up, while that of West Side and South Side lines are either remaining stable or seeing some declines. Ridership on the North Side Brown Line, for instance, has increased 83% since 1979, necessitating the station reconstruction project currently underway to accommodate longer trains.

Riders waiting to board a Red Line train on an elevated platform

Annual traffic on the Howard branch of the Red Line, which reached 35 million in 2005, is approaching the 1927 prewar peak of 38.5 million. The section of the Blue Line between the Loop and Logan Square, which serves once-neglected but now bustling neighborhoods such as Wicker Park, Bucktown, and Palmer Square, has seen a 54% increase in weekday riders since 1992. On the other hand, weekday ridership on the South Side portion of the Green Line, which closed for two years for reconstruction starting in 1994, was 50,400 in 1978 but only 13,000 in 2006. Boardings at the 95th/Dan Ryan stop on the Red Line, though still the system's busiest at 14,100 riders per weekday, are a little over half the peak volume in the 1980s. In 1976, three North Side 'L' branches - what were then known as the Howard, Milwaukee, and Ravenswood lines − accounted for 42% of non-downtown boardings. Today (with the help of the Blue Line extension to O'Hare), they account for 58%.

The North Side (which has historically been the highest density area of the city) skew no doubt reflects the Chicago building boom of the past decade, which has focused primarily on North Side neighborhoods and downtown. It may ease somewhat in the wake of the current high level of residential construction along the south lakefront. For example, ridership at the linked Roosevelt stops on the Green, Orange, and Red Lines, which serve the burgeoning South Loop neighborhood, has tripled since 1992, with an average of 8,000 boardings per weekday. Patronage at the Cermak-Chinatown stop on the Red Line (4,000 weekday boardings) is at the highest level since the station opened in 1969. The 2003 Chicago Central Area Plan has proposed construction of a Green Line station at Cermak, midway between Chinatown and the McCormick Place convention center, in expectation of continued density growth in the vicinity.

As of mid-2006 the 'L' accounted for 36% of the CTA's nearly 1.5 million weekday riders, with the remainder traveling on the extensive bus network. The rail system's ridership has increased over time. In 1926, the year of peak prewar rail usage, the 'L' carried 229 million passengers – seemingly a formidable number, but actually less than 20% of the 1.16 billion Chicago transit patrons that year, most of whom rode the city's streetcars. The shift to rail has continued in recent times. Since its low point in 1992 due to the Chicago Flood that closed subway tunnels in the downtown area, weekday 'L' ridership has increased about 25%, while bus ridership has decreased by roughly a sixth.

Lines

See also: List of Chicago 'L' stations

Since 1994 'L' lines have been officially identified by color, although older route names survive to some extent in CTA publications and popular usage to distinguish branches of longer lines:

█ Red Line, consisting of the Howard, State Street Subway and Dan Ryan branches

The Red Line is the busiest route, serving an average of 230,434 passengers each weekday. It includes 34 stations on its 21.8-mile (35 km) route, traveling from Howard Street terminal on the city's northern border with Evanston, through downtown Chicago via the State Street subway, then down the Dan Ryan Expressway median to 95th Street on the Far South Side. Despite its length, the Red Line stops five miles short of the city's southern border. Extension plans are currently being considered. The Red Line is one of two lines operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is the only transit line that goes near both Wrigley Field and U.S. Cellular Field, the homes of Chicago's Major League Baseball teams, the Cubs and White Sox respectively.

█ Blue Line, consisting of the O'Hare, Milwaukee-Dearborn Subway, and Congress branches.

The Blue Line extends from O'Hare International Airport through the Loop via the Milwaukee-Dearborn-Congress subway to the West Side. Trains travel to Des Plaines Avenue in Forest Park via the Eisenhower Expressway median. The route from O'Hare to Des Plaines Avenue is 26.93 miles (43 km) long. The combined number of stations is 33. Until 1970 the northern section of the Blue Line terminated at Logan Square, during which time it was called the Milwaukee route after Milwaukee Avenue which ran parallel to it; in that year service was extended to Jefferson Park via the Kennedy Expressway median, and in 1984 to O'Hare. The Blue Line is the second-busiest, with 128,343 weekday boardings. It operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

█ Brown Line, or Ravenswood Line

The Brown Line follows an 11.4-mile (18 km) route, with 19 stations between Kimball Avenue in Albany Park and the Loop in downtown Chicago. As of December 2008, the Brown Line has an average weekday ridership of 80,000.

█ Green Line, consisting of the Lake Street and Englewood-Jackson Park branches

A completely elevated route utilizing the system's oldest segments (dating back to 1892), the Green Line extends 20.8 miles (33.5 km) with 29 stops between Forest Park and Oak Park (Harlem/Lake (CTA)), through The Loop , to the South Side. South of the Garfield station the line branches, with trains alternately heading to Ashland/63rd in Englewood and Cottage Grove/63rd in Woodlawn. The East 63rd branch formerly extended to Jackson Park, but the portion east of Cottage Grove, which ran above 63rd Street, was demolished in stages in the 1980s and 1990s due to structural problems and then not replaced due to community demands. The average number of weekday boardings is 39,685.

█ Orange Line or Midway Line

The 13-mile (21 km) long Orange Line was constructed in the early 1990s on existing railroad embankments and new concrete and steel elevated structure. It runs from a station adjacent to Chicago Midway International Airport on the Southwest Side to The Loop in downtown Chicago. Average weekday ridership is 30,111.

█ Pink Line consisting of the Douglas Branch and Paulina Connector

The Pink Line is a 11.2-mile (18 km) rerouting of former Blue Line Douglas Park branch trains from Cicero (54/Cermak) via the previously non-revenue Paulina Connector and the Green Line on Lake Street to the Loop. Its average weekday ridership is 13,461.

█ Purple Line, consisting of the Evanston Shuttle and Evanston Express

The Purple Line serves Evanston and Wilmette, with rush-hour express service to downtown Chicago.

The Purple Line is a 3.9-mile (6 km) branch serving north suburban Evanston and Wilmette with express service to the the Loop during rush hour. The local service operates from the Wilmette terminal at Linden Avenue through Evanston to the Howard Street terminal where it connects with the Red and Yellow lines. The rush hour express service continues from Howard to the Loop, running nonstop on the four-track line used by the Red Line to Belmont station, then serving all Brown Line stops to the Loop. Average weekday ridership is 9,956, although this does not count boardings from Belmont south, which are included in Red and Brown line statistics. The stops from Belmont to Chicago Avenue were added in the 1990s to relieve crowding on the Red and Brown lines. The name "purple line" is a reference to nearby Northwestern University, with four stops (Davis, Foster, Noyes, and Central) located just two blocks west of the University campus.

█ Yellow Line, or Skokie Swift

The Yellow Line is a 4.7-mile (8 km) nonstop shuttle that runs from the Howard Street terminal to Dempster Street terminal in suburban Skokie. The Yellow Line is the only 'L' route that does not provide direct service to the Loop. This line was originally part of the North Shore Line's commuter rail service, and was acquired by the CTA in the 1960's. There are currently plans to construct an infill station at Oakton Street to serve downtown Skokie. Upon completion (expected in 2012), this will signal the end of over 40 years of the Skokie Swift operating as a non-stop shuttle. Another plan in consideration is to extend it from its current Dempster Street terminus to Old Orchard via elevated rail. Its average weekday ridership is 2,651.

The Loop

The north west corner of the loop

Brown, Green, Orange, Pink, and Purple Line Express trains serve downtown Chicago via the Loop elevated. The Loop's nine stations average 64,800 weekday boardings.

The Orange Line, Purple Line and the Pink Line run clockwise, the Brown Line runs counter-clockwise. The Green Line is the Loop's only through service; the other four lines circle the Loop and return to their starting points. The Loop forms a rectangle roughly 0.4 miles (650 m long) east-to-west and 0.6 miles (960 m) long north-to-south.

While many believe that the city's central business district was named after this section of the 'L,' the term actually predates the 'L' and refers to a now-retired circular routing of streetcars through downtown, which followed the same basic route as the present day elevated tracks.

Rolling stock

Main article: Chicago 'L' rolling stock

The CTA owns 1190 train cars, permanently coupled into 595 married pairs. Cars are assigned to different lines, and each line contains at most three different series of train cars. Currently, CTA operates 986 cars during peak operation periods. The oldest cars on the 'L', the 2200 series, were built in 1969–1970, and the newest, the 3200 series, were built in 1992–1994. The next series of train cars, the 5000 series, will feature AC propulsion, security cameras, and aisle-facing seating. As of February 2010, ten prototype 5000-series cars have been delivered to CTA for testing; the full order of 406 cars are expected to begin delivery starting in 2011 for regular service.

All cars currently on the system utilize 600 volt direct current power delivered through a third rail; the new 5000-series cars have inverters on-board to convert the DC power to AC power.

Renovation and expansion plans

Speed limit sign

The CTA’s current capital improvement spending is focused on the Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project, Slow Zone Elimination, and the rehabilitation of the Red Line. The CTA also plans to re-build the Green Line's Morgan station, and the Village of Skokie plans to rebuild the Yellow Line's Oakton station. Both stations were closed in 1948 when the CTA was created, and demolished soon after.

The CTA is also actively studying a number of proposals for expanding ‘L’ rail service, including the Circle Line and extensions to the Red, Orange, and Yellow Lines. Governor Pat Quinn's capital budget proposal for fiscal year 2010 includes funding for "preliminary engineering" on the planned Circle Line, as well as funds for modernizing and replacing the system's aging railcars.

In addition, the CTA has studied numerous other proposals for expanded rail service, some of which may be implemented in the future.

Current capital improvements

Old and new: Reconstruction of Fullerton station on the Red and Brown Lines

The Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project enabled the CTA to run eight-car trains on the Brown Line, and rebuilt dilapidated stations to modern standards, including handicap accessibility. Before the project, Brown Line platforms were too short to accommodate trains longer than six cars, and increasing ridership led to uncomfortably crowded trains. After several years of construction, eight-car trains began to run at rush hour on the Brown Line in April 2008. The project reached substantial completion at the end of 2009, on time and on budget, with only minor punch list work remaining. The project’s total cost is expected to be around $530 million.

The CTA’s Slow Zone Elimination Project will continue in 2010. In late 2007, trains were forced to operate at reduced speed over more than 22% of the system due to deteriorated track, structure, and other problems. By October 2008, system wide slow zones had been reduced to 9.1% and by January 2010, total slow zones were reduced to 6.3%.

Planning future projects

All of the new rail service proposals under active consideration by the CTA are currently undergoing Alternatives Analysis Studies.

These studies are the first step in a five-step process. This process is required by the Federal New Starts program, which is an essential source of funding for the CTA’s capital expansion projects. The CTA uses a series of “Screens” to develop a “Locally Preferred Alternative,” which is submitted to the federal New Starts program.

It will likely be years before any of these projects is completed; none of these projects yet has a definite source of funding.

Circle Line

The proposed Circle Line would form an “outer loop,” going through downtown via the State Street subway, then going southwest on the Orange Line and north along Ashland, before re-joining the subway at North/Clybourn or Clark/Division. The Circle Line would connect several different Metra lines with the ‘L’ system, and would facilitate transfers between existing CTA lines; these connections would be situated near the existing Metra and ‘L’ lines’ maximum load points. CTA intitiated official "Alternatives Analysis" planning for the Circle Line in 2005.

Early conceptual planning divided the Circle Line into three segments. Phase 1 would be a restoration of the dilapidated "Paulina Connector", a short (0.75 mi/1.2 km) track segment that links Ashland/Lake with Polk. Phase 2 would link 18th on the Pink Line to Ashland on the Orange Line, with a new elevated structure running through a large industrial area. Phase 3, the final phase, would link Ashland/Lake to North/Clybourn with a new subway running through the dense neighborhoods of West Town and Logan Square. Although the general alignment of Phase 2 was decided upon at an early date, Phase 3 will run through dense residential areas, so the alignment must be considered carefully to avoid impacting neighborhoods adversely. CTA continues to study various possibilities for the alignment of Phase 3.

Phase 1 was completed in 2005 with the restoration of the Paulina Connector. In 2006, the Connector was soon placed into service as part of the new Pink Line. In fall 2009, CTA released the results of its Alternatives Analysis Screen 3. In it, CTA made the decision to begin early engineering work on Phase 2, due to its simple alignment through unpopulated areas and its relatively low cost (estimated at $1.1 billion). Phase 3, which CTA estimates will be far more costly due to its underground alignment, will remain under study until further notice.

Preliminary engineering work is now being performed on Phase 2. In addition to the new line, CTA plans to build four new stations as part of Phase 2, although three out of the four will be located along existing lines that the Circle Line will utilize. These will be at 18th/Clark, Cermak/Blue Island, Roosevelt/Paulina, and Congress/Paulina. 18th/Clark will be along the Orange Line in the Chinatown neighborhood, and will include a direct transfer connection to the Cermak/Chinatown station on the Red Line. Cermak/Blue Island will be located on the newly-built elevated tracks in the Pilsen neighborhood. Roosevelt/Paulina will be located on the Pink Line in the Illinois Medical District. Finally, Congress/Paulina will be built above the Eisenhower Expressway, with a direct transfer connection to the Illinois Medical District station on the Blue Line. Existing stations will provide service near the United Center.

Extensions of Red, Orange and Yellow Lines

The CTA is conducting Alternatives Analysis Studies of proposed extensions for the Red, Orange and Yellow Lines. Although these are three separate projects in three different areas of the city and suburbs, all three projects involve similar challenges of extending existing lines into underserved areas, so CTA has chosen to group the lines together into a larger program, so that analysis, engineering, and construction work can be done more cost-effectively through economies of scale.

• The Red Line Extension would provide service from the current terminus, at 95th Street, to 130th Street, decreasing transit times for residents of the far South Side and relieving crowding and congestion at the current terminus. CTA presented its locally-preferred alternative at meetings in summer 2009. This consists of a new elevated rail line between 95th St and a new station at 130th, paralleling a Union Pacific railroad line through the Far South Side neighborhoods of Roseland, West Pullman, and Riverdale. In addition to the terminal station at 130th, three new stations would be built at 103rd Street, 111th Street, and 115th Street/Michigan Avenue. Basic engineering, along with an environmental impact statement, are now underway.
• The Orange Line Extension would provide transit service from the current terminus, Midway International Airport, to the Ford City Mall, which was originally meant to be the Orange Line's southern terminus when the line was planned in the 1980s. This would alleviate congestion at the current Midway terminal. CTA presented its locally-preferred alternative at meetings in summer 2009. This consists of a new elevated rail line that runs south from the Midway terminal along Belt Railway tracks, crosses Clearing Yard while heading southwest to Cicero Avenue, then runs south in the median of Cicero to a terminal on the east side of Cicero near 76th Street. Basic engineering, along with an environmental impact statement, are now underway.
• The Yellow Line Extension would provide transit service from the current terminus, at Dempster Street, to the corner of Old Orchard Road and the Edens Expressway, just west of the Old Orchard Shopping Center . CTA presented its locally-preferred alternative at meetings in summer 2009. This consists of a new elevated rail line from Dempster north along a former rail right-of-way to the Edens Expressway, where the line will turn to the north and run along the east side of the expressway to a terminus at Old Orchard Road. Basic engineering, along with an environmental impact statement, are now underway. Unlike extensions to the Red and Orange Lines, the Yellow Line Extension has attracted significant community opposition from residents of Skokie, as well as parents of students at Niles North High School, whose land the new line would be constructed on. Residents and parents have cited concerns about noise, visual pollution, and crime. It is expected that these concerns will be addressed in the environmental impact statement.

Other recent service improvements

'L' train painted pink to mark the start of the Pink Line trial service

Pink Line service began on June 25, 2006, though it did not involve any new track or stations. The Pink Line travels over what was formerly a branch of the Blue Line from the 54/Cermak terminal in Cicero to the Polk-Medical Center station in Chicago. Pink Line trains then proceed via the Paulina Street Connector to the Lake Street branch of the Green Line and then clockwise around the Loop elevated via Lake-Wabash-Van Buren-Wells. (Douglas trains followed the same path between April 4, 1954 and June 22, 1958 after the old Garfield Park ‘L’ line was demolished to make way for the Eisenhower Expressway.) The new route, which serves 22 stations, offers more frequent service for riders on both the Congress and Douglas branches. Pink Line trains can be scheduled independently of Blue Line trains, and run more frequently than the Douglas branch of the Blue Line did.

Possible future projects

There are other possible future expansions, identified in various city and regional planning studies. CTA has not begun official studies of these expansions, so it is unclear whether they will ever be implemented, or simply remain as visionary projects. They include:

• Clinton Street Subway, running through the West Loop, connecting the Red Line near North/Clybourn to the Red Line again, near Cermak-Chinatown. From North/Clybourn, the subway would run south along Larrabee Street, then under the Chicago River to Clinton Street in the West Loop. Running south under Clinton, the subway would pass Ogilvie Transportation Center and Union Station, with short connections to Metra trains. It would then continue south on Clinton until roughly 16th Street, where it would turn east, cross the river again, and rejoin the Red Line just north of the current Cermak-Chinatown stop. The estimated cost of this line was $3 billion, with no local funding source identified. It is unclear whether this would represent a re-routing of the existing Red Line, or an entirely new service.

• Airport Express service to O'Hare International Airport and Midway from a downtown terminal on State Street. A business plan prepared for the CTA calls for a private firm to manage the venture with service starting in 2008. The project has been criticized as a boondoggle. The custom-equipped, premium-fare trains would offer nonstop service at faster speeds than the current Blue and Orange Lines. Although the trains would not run on dedicated rails (construction of such tracks could cost more than $1.5 billion), several short sections of passing track build at stations would allow the express trains to pass Blue and Orange trains while they sit at those stations. The CTA has already pledged $130 million and the city of Chicago $42 million toward the cost of the downtown station. In comments posted to her blog in 2006, CTA chair Carole Brown said, "I would support premium rail service only if it brought significant new operating dollars, capital funding, or other efficiencies to CTA … The most compelling reason to proceed with the project is the opportunity to connect the Blue and Red subway tunnels," which are one block apart downtown. In the meantime, CTA announced that due to cost overruns, it would only complete the shell of the Block 37 station; its president said "it would not make sense to completely build out the station or create the final tunnel connections until a partner is selected because final layout, technology and finishes are dependent on an operating plan."

• Mid-City Transitway running around, rather than through the Chicago Loop. The line would follow the Cicero Avenue/Belt Line corridor (former Crosstown Expressway alignment) between the O'Hare branch of the Blue Line at Montrose and the Dan Ryan branch of the Red Line at 87th Street. It would not necessarily be an 'L' line; a busway and other options are being considered.

• Gold Line, a proposal that is unique in that it was proposed by community members and not professional transit planners. The proposal involves little to no new construction, but entails operating Metra's existing Electric Line more like a rapid transit line, by running trains more frequently (every ten minutes between 6am and midnight) and providing reduced-fare transfers to CTA buses and trains. Unlike the current Metra service, which bypasses many stations to reach suburban stations more quickly, the Gold Line would make all stops within the city. The route would run along the Metra Electric Line's South Chicago Branch, running from Millennium Station in downtown southwards to a terminus at South Chicago (93rd Street). Estimates for bringing the line into operation place the cost at $160 million. Since the Gold Line was proposed, the idea of providing rapid transit service along Chicago's south lakefront has spread, and gained considerable support from neighborhoods along its route. Despite its popular support, officials from CTA and Metra have largely dismissed the plan, choosing to focus on other expansion projects. In response to this and other concerns, in 2009 the RTA and the Chicago Department of Transportation authorized $450,000 for a "South Lakefront Study" that is anticipated to yield either one or two new transit projects that are eligible for Federal transit funding. This study has not yet been completed, but it may recommend a new service that is similar to the Gold Line proposal.

Two 'L' trains approach the T-junction at the southeast corner of The Loop

Numerous plans have been advanced over the years to reorganize downtown Chicago rapid transit service, originally with the intention of replacing the Loop lines that are elevated with subways. That idea has been largely abandoned as the city seems keen on keeping and elevated/subway mix. But there have been continued calls to improve transit within the city's greatly enlarged central core. At present the 'L' does not provide direct service between the Metra commuter rail terminals in the West Loop and Michigan Avenue, the principal shopping district, nor does it offer convenient access to popular downtown destinations such as Navy Pier, Soldier Field, and McCormick Place. Plans for the Central Area Circulator, a $700 million downtown light rail system meant to remedy this, were shelved in 1995 for lack of funding. An underground line running along the lakeshore would connect some of the city's major tourist destinations, but this plan has not been widely discussed. Recognizing the cost and difficulty of implementing an all-rail solution, the Chicago Central Area Plan advocated a mix of rail and bus improvements, the centerpiece of which was the West Loop Transportation Center, a multi-level subway to be constructed under Clinton Street from Congress Parkway to Lake Street. The top level would be a pedestrian mezzanine, buses would operate in the second level, rapid transit trains in the third level, and commuter/high-speed intercity trains in the bottom level. The rapid transit level would connect to the existing Blue Line subway at its north and south ends, making possible the "Blue Line loop," envisioned as an underground counterpart to the Loop] elevated. Alternatively, this level might be occupied by the Clinton Street Subway. Among other advantages, the West Loop Transportation Center would provide a direct link between the 'L' and the city's two busiest commuter rail terminals, Ogilvie Transportation Center and Union Station. The plan also proposed transitways along Carroll Avenue (a former rail right-of-way north of the main branch of the Chicago River) and under Monroe Street in the Loop, which earlier transit schemes had proposed as rail routes. The Carroll Avenue route would provide faster bus service between the commuter stations and the rapidly redeveloping Near North Side, with possible rail service later. These new busways would tie into the bus level of the West Loop Transportation Center.

Getting around on the 'L'

The O'Hare terminal on the Blue Line was designed by Chicago architect Helmut Jahn

Prior to color coding, CTA rail line names were based on neighborhood or town served (Ravenswood, Englewood, Evanston, Skokie Swift), endpoint (Howard, Jackson Park, Midway, O'Hare), parallel streets (Congress, Lake), or even a city park the line traveled past (Douglas). As part of the effort to make the 'L' easier to navigate, train signs now indicate the destination terminal:

• Blue Line trains display "Forest Park" signs when traveling southeast/west, "O'Hare" when traveling east/northwest. Some southeast/west trains display "UIC" and end their runs at UIC-Halsted, while some east/northwest trains display "Jefferson Park" or "Rosemont" and terminate there.
• Brown Line trains display "Loop" signs inbound, "Kimball" outbound. Late-night Brown Line shuttle service terminates at Belmont southbound and display "Belmont."
• Green Line trains display "Harlem" when north/westbound, "Ashland/63" or "Cottage Grove" when east/southbound. The "Cottage Grove" reading is relatively new and the majority of CTA signage does not reflect this. Station signs reading "East 63rd" are equivalent to "Cottage Grove" on train signs.
• Orange Line trains display "Loop" inbound, "Midway" outbound.
• Pink Line trains display "Loop" inbound, "54/Cermak" outbound.
• Purple Line local shuttles display "Howard" southbound, "Linden" northbound. Rush-hour Purple Line Express trains display "Loop" inbound, "Linden" outbound.
• Red Line trains display "Howard" northbound, "95th" southbound. Some southbound trains display "Roosevelt" during the overnight hours and terminate there. The "95th" reading is new and CTA signage does not yet reflect this. Station signs reading "95/Dan Ryan" are equivalent to "95th" on train signs.
• Yellow Line trains display "Howard" inbound, "Skokie" outbound.

Since 'L' stations typically are named after the principal intersecting street and Chicago streets tend to be long and straight, many stations on different lines have the same name. For example, there are four stations named Pulaski, five named Kedzie, and five named Western — two of which are on the Blue Line. None of the three stations named Chicago lie in the Chicago Loop: they take their names from Chicago Avenue, six city blocks (3/4 mile) north of the northern boundary of the Loop.

Making connections

The 'L' serves both Chicago airports but does not connect directly to any of the commuter rail, intercity rail, or intercity bus stations in or near the Loop. Metra, Amtrak, and Greyhound stations, and their locations relative to 'L' stops are:

• Chicago Union Station, terminal for all Amtrak and HC, BNSF, MD-W, MD-N, SWS, and NCS Metra trains, is 2 blocks north of Clinton (Blue Line) station and 3 blocks west of Quincy (Loop Brown, Orange, Purple, Pink Lines) station.
• Ogilvie Transportation Center (formerly North Western Station), terminal for UP-N, UP-NW, and UP-W Metra trains, is 2 blocks south of Clinton (Green, Pink Lines) station and three blocks west of the Washington/Wells (Loop Brown, Orange, Purple, Pink Lines) station.
• Millennium Station (formerly Randolph Street Terminal), terminal for Metra Electric Line and South Shore Line trains, is two blocks east of Randolph/Wabash (Loop Brown, Orange, Green, Purple, Pink Lines) station and is accessible through the Chicago Pedway. It can also be accessed via a Pedway connection at Lake/State (Red Line) station's southern exit.
• LaSalle Street Station, terminal for RI Metra trains, is less than a block from both LaSalle (Blue Line) and LaSalle/Van Buren (Loop Brown, Orange, Purple, Pink Lines) stations.
• The downtown Chicago Greyhound bus terminal is two blocks southwest of Clinton (Blue Line) station.
• The 'L' serves both O'Hare Airport (Blue Line) and Midway Airport (Orange Line).

'L' or El?

The Chicago rapid-transit system is officially nicknamed the 'L'. This name for the CTA rail system applies to the whole system, as well as its elevated, subway, at-grade and open-cut segments. The use of the nickname dates from the earliest days of the elevated railroads. Newspapers of the late 1880s referred to proposed elevated railroads in Chicago as '"L" roads.' The first route to be constructed, the Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Railroad gained the nickname "Alley Elevated", or "Alley L" during its planning and construction, a term that was widely used by 1893, less than a year after the line opened.

In discussing various stylings of "Loop" and "L" in Destination Loop: The Story of Rapid Transit Railroading in and around Chicago (1982), author Brian J. Cudahy quotes a passage from The Neon Wilderness (1949) by Chicago author Nelson Algren: "beneath the curved steel of the El, beneath the endless ties." Cudahy then comments, "Note that in the quotation above ... it says 'El' to mean 'elevated rapid transit railroad.' We trust that this usage can be ascribed to a publisher's editor in New York or some other east coast city; in Chicago the same expression is routinely rendered 'L.'"

While this is broadly true, it is not hard to find exceptions, such as the magazine Time Out Chicago, which refers to the system as the El and once responded to a letter on the subject by explaining that it chose "El" stylistically because it would be easier for people originally from outside of Chicago to decipher.

As used by the CTA, the name is rendered as the capital letter 'L', in quotation marks. "L" (with double quotation marks) was often used by CTA predecessors such as the Chicago Rapid Transit Company; however, the CTA uses single quotation marks (') on some printed materials and signs rather than double, and it seems safe to say there is no firm policy other than use of quotation marks of some kind. The term subway in Chicago usage is limited to sections of the 'L' that are underground and is not applied to the system as a whole, and Chicagoans typically refer to the 'L' even when they mean the below-ground parts.

Security and safety

In addition to general security issues on the CTA, there were calls to improve CTA's emergency response and communications procedures after a second evacuation of the Blue Line subway after accidents in it (a derailment in 2006 and a stalled train in 2008). CTA has also had a history of train accidents where operators apparently overrode automatic train stops on red signals, starting with the 1977 collision at Wabash and Lake, when 4 cars of a Lake-Dan Ryan train fell from the elevated structure, killing 11, extending to two incidents in 2001, and two more in 2008, the more serious involving a Green Line train that derailed and straddled the split in the elevated structure at the 59th Street junction between the Ashland and East 63rd Street branches, and a minor one near 95th Street on the Red line.

In 2002, 25-year-old Joseph Konopka, better known by his self-given nickname "Dr. Chaos", was arrested by Chicago Police after he was caught hoarding potassium cyanide and sodium cyanide in a Chicago Transit Authority storeroom in the Chicago 'L' Blue Line subway. Konopka had picked the original locks on several doors in the tunnels, then changed the locks so that he could access the rarely used storage rooms freely. Konopka had briefly associated with a Chicago-area urban exploration group in order to obtain information on how to access the large network of unused tunnels and abandoned rooms on Chicago's transit system as well as to lure juveniles to help him.

See also

• Chicago 'L' rolling stock
• List of rapid transit systems
• Mass transit in Chicago
• List of United States rapid transit systems by ridership
• List of closed Chicago 'L' stations

Bibliography

• Cudahy, Brian J. (1982). Destination Loop: The Story of Rapid Transit Railroading in and around Chicago. Brattleboro, VT: S. Greene Press. ISBN 978-0-8289-0480-3.
• Franch, John (2006). Robber Baron: The Life of Charles Tyson Yerkes. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-2520-3099-4.

External links

• Chicago Transit Authority - operates CTA buses and 'L' trains
• Chicago-L.org - an unofficial, extensive fan site
• CTA Tattler - Daily blog of "L" stories
• ForgottenChicago.com - Forgotten Chicago, "Our Historic Subway Stations".
• Network map (real-distance)