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, after the New York City Subway and Washington Metro. In 2016, the "L" had 1,492 rail cars, eight different routes, and 145 train stations. In 2022, the system had 103,524,900 rides, or about 388,600 per weekday in the third quarter of 2023.
The Yellow Line, alternatively known as the Skokie Swift, is a branch of the Chicago "L" train system in Chicago, Illinois. The 4.7-mile (7.6 km) route runs from the Howard Terminal on the north side of Chicago, through the southern part of Evanston and to the Dempster Terminal in Skokie, Illinois, making one intermediate stop at Oakton Street in Skokie.
The Purple Line of the Chicago "L" is a 3.9-mile (6.3 km) route on the northernmost section of the system. The service normally begins from Linden in Wilmette and ends at Howard on Chicago's north border, passing through the city of Evanston.
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.
Central is a Purple Line station of the Chicago Transit Authority 'L' system. Located at 1024 Central Street in Evanston, Illinois, the elevated platform sits above Central Street, half a block west of Ridge Avenue. The station itself, a Beaux-Arts structure designed by noted transit architect Arthur Gerber, is on the south side of Central Street and is entered at street level, with an auxiliary exit on the north side of the street.
Damen is an 'L' station on the CTA's Brown Line. It is an elevated station with two side platforms, located at 4643–47 North Damen Avenue in Chicago's Ravenswood neighborhood. The adjacent stations are Western, which is located about one half mile (0.8 km) to the west, and Montrose, about one half mile (0.8 km) to the southeast. Located three blocks east is the Ravenswood Metra station on the commuter railroad's Union Pacific North Line.
Dempster is an 'L' station on the CTA's Purple Line at 1316 Sherman Place in Evanston, Illinois.
Main is an 'L' station on the CTA's Purple Line at 836 Chicago Avenue in Evanston, Illinois. It is near the Main Street station of Metra's Union Pacific North Line.
South Boulevard, is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system, on the Purple Line at 602 South Boulevard in Evanston, Illinois.
Dempster–Skokie, formerly known as Dempster, or Skokie, is an 'L' station on the CTA's Yellow Line at 5005 Dempster Street in Skokie, Illinois. It is one of three stops on the Yellow Line, and currently the terminus of line, It is one of two CTA rail stations in Skokie, and is at grade level.
Evanston Main Street is the southernmost of the three commuter railroad stations in Evanston, Illinois. It is served by Metra's Union Pacific North Line trains, which go south to Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago and as far north as Kenosha, Wisconsin. Travel time to Ogilvie is typically 23 minutes, but can be as high as 26 minutes during rush hour. In Metra's zone-based fare system, the station is in zone 2. As of 2018, Evanston Main Street is the 41st busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 1,130 weekday boardings. The station does not contain a ticket agent booth; passengers must purchase their tickets on board the train.
Evanston Davis Street is a commuter railroad station in downtown Evanston, Illinois. It is served by Metra's Union Pacific North Line with trains going south to Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago and as far north as Kenosha, Wisconsin. In Metra's zone-based fare system, Davis Street is in zone 2. As of 2018, Evanston Davis Street is the 12th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 1,876 weekday boardings. The station is next to the Davis station of the Chicago Transit Authority's Purple Line, where CTA and Pace buses terminate. Between the two stations is 909 Davis Street, a six-story building with a kiss-and-ride loop for car drop-off.
Austin is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system. It is located between the Ridgeland and Central stations on the Green Line, which runs from Harlem/Lake and to Ashland/63rd and Cottage Grove. The station is located at the intersection of Austin Boulevard and Corcoran Place in the Austin neighborhood on Chicago's West Side and borders the village of Oak Park.
O'Hare is a Chicago "L" station located at O'Hare International Airport, 17 miles (27 km) northwest of The Loop. The northwestern terminus of the Chicago Transit Authority's Blue Line, it is a subway station with two island platforms serving three tracks, situated under the parking garage for Terminals 1, 2, and 3. Trains are scheduled to depart from O'Hare every 2–7 minutes during rush-hour periods and take about 40 minutes to travel to the Loop. It is the westernmost station of the Chicago 'L' system. It is also the only station without coordinates in Chicago's grid system, the only underground terminus, and is the only terminal that does not directly connect to any CTA or Pace buses. It is also one of two terminals that does not have a yard assigned to it.
Rosemont, formerly River Road, is a Chicago "L" station at the intersection of River Road and I-190 in the suburb of Rosemont, Illinois. It is located in the median of I-190 with one island platform serving two tracks, 16 miles (26 km) northwest of The Loop. Trains are scheduled to depart from Rosemont every 2–7 minutes during rush-hour periods, and take about 36 minutes to travel to the Loop. The station is 7 blocks east and 2 blocks north of O'Hare International Airport. Rosemont is the busiest station outside the city limits of Chicago, with 2,090,977 passenger entries in 2014.
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, in the Schorsch Forest View neighborhood 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.
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.
Oakton–Skokie is an 'L' station on the CTA's Yellow Line, which serves downtown Skokie. Previously, a station existed at this location which was in operation as part of the North Shore Line's Niles Center Route from 1925 until 1948, and later demolished in 1964. The current station opened on April 30, 2012.
The Chicago "L" used skip-stop service, wherein certain trains would stop only at certain designated stations on a route, from 1948 to 1995. It was implemented as a way to speed up travel within a route, and was one of the Chicago Transit Authority's first reforms upon its assumption of the "L"'s operations.
Metra: Evanston Davis Street 
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