Pink Line (CTA)

Pink Line
A Pink Line train at State/Lake. The 2600-series cars are colored pink to promote the line.
Overview
Status	Operational
Locale	Chicago and Cicero, Illinois, USA
Termini	54/Cermak The Loop
Stations	22
Service
Type	Rapid transit
System	Chicago 'L'
Operator(s)	Chicago Transit Authority
Rolling stock	2600-Series
History
Opened	June 25, 2006
Technical
Line length	Template:Mi to km
Character	Elevated and Street Level
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Minimum radius	90 feet (27 m)
Route map Template:CTA Pink Line

The Pink Line is a rapid transit line in Chicago, run by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) as part of the Chicago 'L' system. It began operation for a 180-day trial period on June 25, 2006, running between 54/Cermak Station in Cicero, Illinois and the the Loop in downtown Chicago. The CTA has since added two six-month extensions to this trial. The route to the Loop follows tracks shared with Green Line trains on Lake Street, connected by the previously non-revenue Paulina Connector. Average weekday ridership on the Pink Line is 29,242 as of October 2009.

Background

In January 2005, the CTA held hearings on its proposal to reroute trains from 54th/Cermak via the recently rebuilt Paulina Connector to the Lake Street Green Line, carrying Douglas branch trains to and around the elevated Chicago Loop (clockwise) for the first time since Douglas trains began using the Milwaukee-Dearborn-Congress Subway in downtown Chicago on June 22, 1958. This would allow a doubling of Blue Line trains to Forest Park on the Congress Line, since service would no longer be divided between the Forest Park and 54th/Cermak destinations. The CTA has also promised that service to/from 54th/Cermak would be increased 100% during rush hour.

At the initial time of proposal, this plan was often referred to as the "Silver Line," as the original idea was to use grey as the line color on printed materials and give it the friendlier route name of "Silver."

Opposition to the plan centers on loss of access to other Blue Line destinations such as UIC campus. The CTA has said that two rush hour trains per hour from 54th/Cermak (Douglas) will be routed through the subway to O'Hare International Airport.

On February 15, 2006, the CTA approved the separate plan. Non-rush hour trains would all be routed via the Loop, Green Line, and Paulina Connector. During rush hour, service would be available on this routing as well as the original route via the Dearborn Street Subway every half hour. These changes were implemented beginning June 25, 2006, with the initial trial period scheduled to conclude 180 days later on December 22, 2006.

Operation

The Pink Line began operation on June 25, 2006, making use of the rebuilt Paulina Connector which had not been used in regular revenue service for nearly 50 years.

The service, which was originally set up as a temporary service to be run for a trial period of 180 days (6 months), doubles service on both the Douglas branch and the Forest Park (or Congress) branch of the Blue Line. This is accomplished by routing all but 12 trains per day coming from O'Hare to Forest Park, and adding entirely new service from the 54th Avenue terminal in Cicero to the Loop via the Paulina Connector and the Lake Street branch of the Green Line. Douglas trains circle downtown Chicago clockwise around the Inner Loop track via Lake-Wabash-Van Buren-Wells before returning west and southbound via Lake-Paulina to Cicero.

Originally, Douglas trains were operated by the Metropolitan West Side Elevated directly into the Loop by means of the Metropolitan's main line. Construction of the Congress Street Superhighway (known now as the Eisenhower Expressway, I-290) in the 1950's required the removal of the Metropolitan's main line, resulting in Douglas trains being routed to the Loop via the Paulina Connector and the Lake Street "L" in very similar fashion to the present service. Upon completion of the new Congress branch in the median of the expressway, all trains of the Douglas branch were operated via the Milwaukee-Dearborn-Congress Subway through to the city's Northwest Side and eventually to O'Hare Airport.

On March 30, 2006, the Chicago Transit Authority announced that of the top three colors, Pink, Gold and Silver, Pink had received the most votes in a write-in essay contest for Chicago-area schoolchildren in kindergarten through 8th grade—a $1,000 savings bond was awarded to a selected essay writer who advocated the color pink.

On December 12, 2006 the CTA board approved a six month extension to the trial period before making a decision on whether or not to make the changes permanent, and another 180-day extension was added to the trial in June 2007. On December 4, 2008 CTA announced its decision to make the Pink Line permanent.

Douglas Branch Blue Line closing

On April 27, 2008 the CTA began a six-month experimental ceasing of Blue Line operations on the Douglas Branch. All Douglas Branch operations will now be served by the Pink Line. On December 4, 2008, the CTA decided not to reinstate the Douglas Blue Line service and to make the Pink Line permanent.

Operating fleet

Currently, the Pink Line is operated using only the Budd-built 2600-Series rail cars. Trains usually consists of only four cars during much of the day, and only two cars during late evenings on weekends. 54th Yard does occasionally send out six-car trains during rush hour, but this only occurs when there are extra cars in the yard.

Possible route to Ravenswood

In 2002, the CTA proposed the creation of the "Circle Line", which would utilize segments of existing rail lines to keep new construction to a minimum, in addition to 6.6 miles (10.6 km) of new subway and elevated segments to the 'L' system to complete the circumferential route. Maps additionally suggested a possible extension of the existing Brown Line beyond the Loop to 54th/Cermak via the Green Line and the Paulina Connector, and Orange Line service from Chicago Midway International Airport to Kimball, as other potential routings using the new infrastructure. This project is currently undergoing a standard federally mandated alternatives analysis.

Station listing

Pink Line (Cermak "Douglas" Branch)
Station	Location	Points of interest and notes
Oak Park	Oak Park Avenue and 22nd Street	Closed February 3, 1952
Ridgeland	Ridgeland Avenue and 21st Street	Closed February 3, 1952
Lombard	Lombard Avenue and 21st Street	Closed February 3, 1952
Austin	Austin Boulevard and 21st Street	Closed February 3, 1952
58th Avenue	58th Avenue and 21st Street	Closed February 3, 1952
Central	Central Avenue and Cermak Road	Closed February 3, 1952
54/Cermak	2151 S. 54th Avenue, Cicero, Illinois	Cicero
Laramie	2130 S. Laramie Avenue, Cicero, Illinois	Closed February 9, 1992; re-opened in December 2001 during Douglas Branch renovation and closed on August 16, 2003
50th Avenue	2133 S. 50th Avenue, Cicero, Illinois	Closed 1978; deconstructed, reassmbled, and preserved in Illinois Railway Museum
Cicero	2134 S. Cicero Avenue., Cicero, Illinois	Cicero, BNSF Railway Line (Metra) Station, Hawthorne Works
Kenton	Cermak Road west of Kilbourn Avenue	Closed December 9, 1951
Kostner	2019 S. Kostner Avenue	Formerly known as Kildare (one block east of Kostner) until 2002; became Kostner July 17, 2003.
Pulaski	2021 S. Pulaski Road
Lawndale	Lawndale Avenue and 21st Street	Closed December 9, 1951
Central Park	1944 S. Central Park Avenue
Drake	Drake Avenue and 21st Street	Closed December 9, 1951
Homan	Homan Avenue and 21st Street	Closed December 9, 1951
Kedzie	1944 S. Kedzie Avenue	Little Village
Douglas Park	2008 S. Marshall Boulevard	Closed May 3, 1952
California	2010 S. California Avenue	Cook County Jail, Little Village, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Douglas Park
Western	2010 S. Western Avenue	BNSF Railway Line (Metra) Station
Damen	2010 S. Damen Avenue	Heart of Chicago. Formerly known as Hoyne (one block west of Damen) until 2002; became Damen on July 22, 2004.
Wood	Wood Street and 21st Street	Closed May 19, 1957
18th	1710 W. 18th Street	Pilsen, St. Adalbert's, Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum
14th Place	14th Place and Paulina Street	Closed December 9, 1951
Roosevelt	Roosevelt Road and Paulina Street	Closed May 3, 1952
Polk	1713 W. Polk Street	Illinois Medical District University of Illinois at Chicago
Pink Line (Paulina Connector)
Station	Location	Points of interest and notes
Madison	1720 W. Madison Street	Closed February 25, 1951
Pink Line (Lake Street Elevated)
Station	Location	Points of interest and notes
Ashland	1601 W. Lake Street	Union Park Transfer to Green Line trains United Center
Morgan	Morgan Street and Lake Street	Closed 1948, scheduled to reopen in 2011
Clinton	540 W. Lake Street	Ogilvie Transportation Center Chicago Transit Authority Headquarters
Pink Line (Loop)
Station	Location	Points of interest and notes
Clark/Lake	100 W. Lake Street	James R. Thompson Center, Richard J. Daley Center Transfer to Blue, Brown, Green, Orange, and Purple Line trains
State/Lake	200 N. State Street	Chicago Theatre, Gene Siskel Film Center Transfer station for Red Line via Lake
Randolph/Wabash	151 N. Wabash Avenue	Chicago Cultural Center, Millennium Park Transfer station for Millennium Station (Metra Electric and South Shore Line trains)
Madison/Wabash	2 N. Wabash Avenue	Jewelers Row
Adams/Wabash	201-23 S. Wabash Avenue	Grant Park, Petrillo Music Shell, Buckingham Fountain, Art Institute of Chicago, Orchestra Hall, DePaul University Transfer to Green and Orange Line trains
Library-State/Van Buren	1 W. Van Buren Street	Harold Washington Library Center, DePaul University, Robert Morris University, John Marshall Law School, Chicago Bar Association and The Auditorium Building of Roosevelt University Transfer station for Purple, Brown, and Orange Lines and Red and Blue Lines via Jackson
LaSalle/Van Buren	121 W. Van Buren Street	Chicago Board of Trade, Chicago Board Options Exchange Transfer station for LaSalle Street Station Metra Rock Island District trains
Quincy	220 S. Wells Street	Sears Tower Transfer station for Union Station Metra (BNSF Railway Line, Heritage Corridor, Milwaukee District/North Line, Milwaukee District/West Line, North Central Service, SouthWest Service) and Amtrak trains
Washington/Wells	100 N. Wells Street	Chicago City Hall, Civic Opera House, Chicago Mercantile Exchange Transfer station for Brown and Purple Line trains and Ogilvie Transportation Center (Union Pacific/North, Northwest, and West Line Metra trains)

At Washington/Wells, Pink Line trains head back to Clinton, then make all stops in reverse to 54/Cermak.

See also

• Chicago 'L'
• List of stations on the 'L'

External links

• Pink Line at Chicago-'L'.org
• CTA Selects Winning Essay of Name the Line Contest - CTA Press Release on the Pink line