The Chicago "L" is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs in the U.S. state of Illinois. Operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), it is the fourth-largest rapid transit system in the United States in terms of total route length, at 102.8 miles (165.4 km) long as of 2014, and the third-busiest rapid transit system in the United States. In 2016, the "L" had 1,492 rail cars, eight different routes, and 145 train stations. In 2023, the system had 117,447,000 rides, or about 373,800 per weekday in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The Red Line is a rapid transit line in Chicago, run by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) as part of the Chicago "L" system. It is the busiest line on the "L" system, with an average of 93,457 passengers boarding each weekday in 2022. The route is 26 miles (42 km) long with a total of 33 stations. It runs elevated from the Howard station in the Rogers Park neighborhood on the North Side, through a subway on the Near North Side, Downtown, and the South Loop, and then through the Dan Ryan Expressway median to 95th/Dan Ryan in the Roseland neighborhood on the South Side.
The Blue Line is a 26.93-mile-long (43.34 km) Chicago "L" line which extends through The Loop from O'Hare International Airport at the far northwest end of the city, through downtown via the Milwaukee–Dearborn subway and across the West Side to its southwest end at Forest Park, with a total of 33 stations. At about 27 miles, it is the longest line on the Chicago "L" system and second busiest, and one of the longest local subway/elevated lines in the world. It has an average of 64,978 passengers boarding each weekday in 2022.
The Green Line is a rapid transit line in Chicago, Illinois, operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) as part of the Chicago "L" system. It is the only completely elevated route in the "L" system. All other routes may have various combinations of elevated, subway, street level, or freeway median sections.
Pace is the suburban bus and regional paratransit division of the Regional Transportation Authority serving the Chicago metropolitan area. It was created in 1983 by the RTA Act, which established the formula that provides funding to the CTA, Metra, and Pace. The various agencies providing bus service in the Chicago suburbs were merged under the Suburban Bus Division, which rebranded as Pace in 1984. In 2022, Pace had 18.041 million riders.
Howard is an 'L' station in Chicago, Illinois on the North Side Main Line. It is the northern terminus of the Red Line and the southeastern terminus of the Yellow Line; it also serves the Purple Line, for which it is the southern terminus at non-rush hour times on weekdays and all day on weekends. Trains on the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad also stopped at Howard from 1926 until that line was abandoned in 1963.
Addison is a Chicago "L" station on the Chicago Transit Authority Red Line. It is located in the Wrigleyville area of the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, at 940 West Addison Street with city block coordinates at 3600 North at 940 West. Addison directly serves Wrigley Field, home of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs. The station is within the shadow of the historic baseball stadium, which was built with convenient access to the "L".
Ashland is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system, serving the Orange Line. It is located at the intersection of Ashland Avenue and 31st Street near the Stevenson Expressway. Although located within the Lower West Side community area, the station mostly serves the Bridgeport and McKinley Park neighborhoods.
Midway is an 'L' station on the CTA's Orange Line. It is the southwestern terminus of the Orange Line and serves Midway International Airport in Chicago, the city's second-largest airport. The turnstiles at the station's entrance are somewhat wider than most to accommodate airport passengers and their luggage. The station, along with the rest of the Orange Line, opened on October 31, 1993 after a long wait by Chicago's southwest side for 'L' access. It is also the closest station to SeatGeek Stadium, former home of the Chicago Fire, which is approximately 4 miles away. Although in the Garfield Ridge community area, the station serves many residents in the West Elsdon and West Lawn neighborhoods.
69th is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system, serving the Red Line. The station is located in the median of the Dan Ryan Expressway, within the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood. This station connects with the second most bus routes on the Dan Ryan Branch, and is one of the terminals for the N5 South Shore Night Bus. This makes it an important connection for buses, especially Night Owl connections.
79th is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system, serving the Dan Ryan branch of the Red Line. The station is located in the median of the Dan Ryan Expressway. It was the first station on the Dan Ryan branch to feature an elevator for accessibility. The station's location is between the Greater Grand Crossing and Chatham neighborhoods.
Cumberland is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system. Situated on the Blue Line between Rosemont and Harlem, the station is located in the median of the Kennedy Expressway at Cumberland Avenue in the O'Hare community area on Chicago's Northwest Side. It is also in close proximity to both the Norwood Park neighborhood and the city of Park Ridge as well as the village of Norridge. The area surrounding the station consists of mixed commercial and residential development.
Harlem is a Chicago "L" station serving the Blue Line's O'Hare branch in Chicago's Norwood Park neighborhood. It is not to be confused with the other Harlem Blue Line station. Trains run from Harlem every 2–7 minutes during rush hour, and take 30–45 minutes to travel to the Loop. O'Hare-bound trains take 10 minutes to reach the airport from Harlem. The station is located in the median of the Kennedy Expressway.
Clinton is a subway station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system, serving the Blue Line and the West Loop neighborhood of the larger Near West Side community area. The Congress Branch of the Blue line opened in June 1958, and connected to the existing Dearborn subway at LaSalle. It is the closest 'L' station to Union Station, which doubles as Chicago's Amtrak station and the downtown terminal for several Metra lines. It is also the closest station to Chicago's Greyhound bus terminal. Union Station is two blocks north, while Greyhound is one block west.
95th Street is a major east–west highway on Chicago's South Side, and in the southwest suburbs, is designated as 9500 South in Chicago's address system. 95th Street is 11 miles (18 km) south of Madison Street.
The Jefferson Park Transit Center is an intermodal passenger transport hub in the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It serves as a station for rail and also as a bus terminal. Jefferson Park Transit Center's railroad station is on Metra's Union Pacific Northwest Line, with the station located at 4963 North Milwaukee Avenue. Jefferson Park is 9.1 miles (14.6 km) away from Ogilvie Transportation Center in downtown Chicago, the inbound terminus of the Union Pacific Northwest Line. Under Metra's zone-based fare system, Jefferson Park is in zone 2. As of 2018, Jefferson Park is the 97th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 510 weekday boardings.
The Dan Ryan branch is a 9.4 mi (15.1 km) long section of the Chicago "L" system located on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is operated by the Chicago Transit Authority, as part of its Red Line service and is normally through-routed downtown towards the North Side via the State Street subway. As of February 2013, the branch serves 45,355 passengers per weekday. As part of the CTA's busiest rapid transit line, it is operated 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The branch serves the Chinatown, Armour Square, Fuller Park, Englewood, Greater Grand Crossing, Chatham and Roseland neighborhoods.
Roosevelt is an "L" station on the CTA's Red, Green, and Orange Lines, located between the Chicago Loop and the Near South Side in Chicago, Illinois. It is situated at 1167 S State Street, just north of Roosevelt Road. The station is also the closest "L" station to the Museum Campus of Chicago and Soldier Field, which are about 1⁄2 mile (800 m) to the east. The Museum Campus/11th Street Metra station is also about 1⁄3 mile (500 m) to the east.
In the spring of 2012, Chicago Transit Authority started a station and track rehabilitation program dubbed "Red Ahead", beginning on the North Side Main Line, which is called the "Red North" project. The program monitors the full route of the Red Line, which does not include the stations of Loyola, Bryn Mawr, Sheridan, or Wilson. Stations between Wilson through Fullerton, and the State Street subway, are also not included. In May 2012, the CTA started to work on the North Side Main Line stations which includes Jarvis, Morse, Granville, Thorndale, Berwyn, Argyle, and Lawrence. The stations are listed in order, starting at Granville, then Morse, Thorndale, Argyle, Berwyn, Lawrence, and finally Jarvis. This project started in June 2012 and completed in December 2012. This project is also part of the Red Ahead's "Red & Purple Modernization" project.
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