Washington/Wells station

Not to be confused with Washington/Dearborn, Washington/State, or Washington/Wabash.

Washington/Wells   100N 200W
General information
Location	100 North Wells Street Chicago, Illinois 60606
Coordinates	41°52′57″N87°38′02″W / 41.882541°N 87.633824°W / 41.882541; -87.633824
Owned by	Chicago Transit Authority
Line(s)	Loop Elevated
Platforms	2 Side platforms
Tracks	2
Connections	at Ogilvie
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible	Yes
History
Opened	July 17, 1995;30 years ago (1995-07-17)
Passengers
2024	1,267,269 [1]   8.1%
Services
Preceding station Chicago "L" Following station Clark/Lake toward Midway   Orange Line Quincy One-way operation Merchandise Mart toward Linden Purple Line Express Clinton toward 54th/​Cermak Pink Line Merchandise Mart One-way operation Brown Line Quincy toward Kimball
Track layout Legend Pink to 54th/​Cermak Orange to Midway   Purple Express to Linden Washington St. Calhoun Pl. Madison St. Brown to Kimball
Location

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.

History

The Washington/Wells station replaced two former Loop stations, Randolph/Wells and Madison/Wells. The CTA did the same on the Wabash side of the Loop, replacing Randolph/Wabash and Madison/Wabash with Washington/Wabash.

Station layout

The station is located between Washington and Madison Streets and is constructed of steel and concrete, with wooden platforms. A large mezzanine is accessible by stairs just south of Washington on either side of Wells, and the station is also accessible via elevators. Just past several turnstiles are stairwells leading to the platform level; the easternmost stairs go to the Inner Loop platform while the westernmost go to the Outer Loop platform. Both platforms are also serviced by elevators. It is possible to go from one platform to the other without leaving the paid area, making Washington/Wells a transfer station. The platforms are from Washington to Madison; the platforms continues over Madison Street. There are auxiliary exits on both ends of both platforms to the east sides of Washington and Madison. Both platforms can handle eight-car trains, the longest on the CTA system.

Service

Washington/Wells serves the Brown Line (which travels counterclockwise on the Outer Loop track), and the Orange Line, Purple Line Express (weekday rush hours only), and Pink Line (which travel clockwise on the Inner Loop track).

Bus connections

CTA

• J14 Jeffery Jump
• 20 Madison (Owl Service)
• 37 Sedgwick (Weekdays only)
• 56 Milwaukee
• 60 Blue Island/26th (Owl Service)
• 124 Navy Pier
• 157 Streeterville/Taylor (Weekdays only)

References

1. "Annual Ridership Report – Calendar Year 2024" (PDF). Chicago Transit Authority. January 22, 2025. Retrieved April 12, 2025.

External links

Media related to Washington/Wells (CTA) at Wikimedia Commons

• Washington/Wells Station Page at Chicago-'L'.org
• Brown Line Train schedules Archived December 28, 2017, at the Wayback Machine at CTA official site
• Orange Line Train schedules Archived March 3, 2018, at the Wayback Machine at CTA official site
• Purple Line Train schedules Archived August 28, 2017, at the Wayback Machine at CTA official site
• Pink Line Train schedules Archived December 18, 2017, at the Wayback Machine at CTA official site
• Washington Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Madison Street closed entrance from Google Maps Street View