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 Brown Line of the Chicago "L" system, is an 11.4-mile (18.3 km) route with 27 stations between Chicago's Albany Park neighborhood and downtown Chicago. It runs completely above ground and is almost entirely grade-separated. It is the third-busiest 'L' route, with an average of 28,315 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.
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.
Quincy is a rapid transit station on the Chicago "L" system. It is located between the Washington/Wells and LaSalle/Van Buren stations on the Loop. The station is located above the intersection of Quincy Street and Wells Street in downtown Chicago, Illinois. Having opened in 1897, it is one of the oldest surviving stations on the 'L' system.
Belmont is an 'L' station serving the CTA's North Side Main Line. It is served at all times by the Red and Brown Lines, and by the Purple Line Express during weekday rush hours. It is located at 945 West Belmont Avenue in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It is an elevated station with two island platforms serving four tracks; Brown and Purple Line trains share the outer tracks while Red Line trains run on the inner tracks. Along with residential areas, the neighborhood surrounding Belmont contains many eclectic shops, bars, and restaurants and active nightlife. The station is one of the more heavily utilized on the system serving as a busy transfer point, and also as a terminal when the Brown Line operates as a shuttle service to and from Kimball late at night and early in the morning. It is nearly identical to Fullerton, minus the terminal status.
Washington/Wells is a station on the Chicago "L" system, located in downtown Chicago, Illinois on The Loop. The station opened on July 17, 1995. Washington/Wells is located a few blocks from several major attractions and business centers, such as Chicago City Hall, the Civic Opera House, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The station is also three blocks east of Ogilvie Transportation Center, terminal for the Union Pacific North, Northwest, and West line Metra trains. The station is located between Washington and Madison on Wells Street in downtown Chicago.
Merchandise Mart is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system, located in the Near North Side neighborhood at 350 North Wells Street in Chicago, Illinois. The station is elevated above street level, on a steel structure. The turnstiles and customer assistant booth of the station are located on the second level of the Merchandise Mart itself. This is the main entrance to the station.
Chicago, is an 'L' station on the CTA's Brown and Purple Lines. Located in the Near North Side neighborhood at 300 W Chicago Avenue at West Chicago Avenue and North Franklin Street in Chicago, Illinois, the station opened in 1900 as part of the original series of stations on the Northwestern Elevated. A high density of art galleries and several schools is in the vicinity of the station, including the Moody Bible Institute.
Fullerton is an 'L' station on the CTA's North Side Main Line. It is served at all times by Red and Brown Line trains; Purple Line Express trains also stop at the station during weekday rush hours. It is an elevated station with two island platforms, serving four tracks, located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois. Brown and Purple Line trains share the outer tracks while Red Line trains run on the inner tracks. As well as being an important transfer station, the station serves the Lincoln Park Campus of DePaul University.
Sedgwick is an 'L' station on the CTA's Brown Line, Purple Line Express trains also stop at the station during weekday rush hours. It is an elevated station with two side platforms, located in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood of the Near North Side community area. The adjacent stations are Armitage, which is located about one mile (1.6 km) to the northwest, and Chicago, located about one mile (1.6 km) to the south.
Clark/Lake is an 'L' station located at 100/124 West Lake Street in Chicago's Loop district, and is accessed from the James R. Thompson Center and 203 North LaSalle building. It is one of the most complex stations on the 'L' system, comprising an elevated station and a subway station. The elevated station is serviced by the Brown, Green, Orange, Pink, and Purple Lines, while the subway platform is serviced by the Blue Line. In December 2014, it had an average of 17,644 weekday passenger entrances, making it the second busiest station in the 'L' system. The Richard J. Daley Center, Chicago City Hall, and Chicago Title and Trust Center are also served by the station. It is the busiest station on the Loop Elevated, and the second-busiest station on the 'L' system as of December 2014. This station had been recognized as the station(s) with the most pickpockets by ABC 7 Chicago in 2018.
Bryn Mawr is an 'L' station on the CTA's Red Line. It is located at 1119 West Bryn Mawr Avenue in the Bryn Mawr Historic District of the Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The adjacent stations are Thorndale, located about one half mile to the north, and Berwyn, about three eighths of a mile to the south. Four tracks pass through the station, but the two western tracks are currently out of service for reconstruction. There is an island platform in the center of the tracks which currently only serves southbound trains; Purple Line weekday rush hour express service pass through the station on the same tracks used by the Red Line but do not stop. The name "Bryn Mawr" comes from the SEPTA Regional Rail station located northwest of Philadelphia in the community of the same name. The name came to the area in the 1880s by Edgewater developer John Lewis Cochran, and is Welsh for "Big Hill."
State/Lake is an 'L' station serving the CTA's Brown, Green, Orange, Pink, and Purple Lines on The Loop. It is located in the Chicago Loop at 200 North State Street. Like all Loop stations, it has two side platforms. The CTA offers farecard transfers between this station and the Lake subway station on the Red Line. Unlike most stations, there is no in-station transfer between directions.
Jackson is an "L" station on the CTA's Red Line in the Loop. Free transfers to Blue Line trains are available at this station via a lower level transfer tunnel to the Jackson station in the Milwaukee–Dearborn subway and farecard transfers to Purple, Orange, Brown and Pink Line trains are available via the Harold Washington Library – State/Van Buren Loop Elevated station.
Armitage is a Chicago Transit Authority "L" elevated station with two side platforms in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, on the Brown Line; Purple Line express trains also stop at the station during weekday rush hours. Red Line trains pass through on the middle tracks, but do not stop. Just south of the platforms is where the Red Line tracks descend into the State Street subway. It is located near the Lincoln Park Zoo, and is accessible via the 73 Armitage bus route.
The Loop is the 1.79-mile (2.88 km) long circuit of elevated rail that forms the hub of the Chicago "L" system in the United States. As of 2022, the branch served 31,893 passengers every weekday. The Loop is so named because the elevated tracks loop around a rectangle formed by Lake Street, Wabash Avenue (east), Van Buren Street (south), and Wells Street (west). The railway loop has given its name to Chicago's downtown, which is also known as the Loop.
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.
29th was a rapid transit station on the Chicago "L"'s South Side main line. Originally constructed by the South Side Elevated Railroad company, it was one of the original ten stations opened on the Chicago "L", beginning service on June 6, 1892. The South Side Elevated Railroad merged operations with three other companies to form Chicago Elevated Railways (CER) in 1911, before merging outright with them in 1924 to form the Chicago Rapid Transit Company (CRT). Public ownership came to the "L" in 1947 with the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA).
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.
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