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 second-busiest rapid transit system in the United States, after the New York City Subway. 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.
Andrew station is a rapid transit station in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at Andrew Square in South Boston, it serves the MBTA Red Line and the MBTA bus system. Named for John Albion Andrew, the square is at the intersection of several major thoroughfares: Dorchester Avenue, Dorchester Street, Southampton Street, and Boston Street. Andrew is the primary transfer point between the Red Line subway and the MBTA surface bus routes into South Boston. Opened in 1918 and renovated in 1990–1994, it is fully accessible.
The Chicago Central Area Transit Plan, generally referred to as the Chicago Central Area Transit Project (CCATP) in the 1970s, was an extensive study of the rapid transit system in downtown Chicago; the study had begun in 1965.
Chicago, is an "L" station on the CTA's Red Line. It serves a significant portion of the Near North Side and Streeterville neighborhoods. With 5,259,992 overall boardings in 2014, it is the busiest station on the Red Line north of the Loop.
Clark/Division is an "L" station on the CTA's Red Line. It is a subway station with one island platform located at 1200 North Clark Street, in the Near North Side neighborhood of Chicago, between the Gold Coast and Old Town. Much of Chicago's North Loop nightlife, including the Rush Street district and many bars and nightclubs are located close to the station.
North/Clybourn is an "L" station on the CTA's Red Line. It is a subway station with two side platforms, located at 1599 North Clybourn Avenue, in the Near North Side neighborhood of Chicago, at the southeastern edge of the commercial Clybourn Corridor. North/Clybourn station is located at the intersection of North Avenue, Halsted Street, and Clybourn Avenue. North/Clybourn was opened on October 17, 1943.
Lake is an "L" station on the CTA's Red Line in the Chicago Loop that is part of the State Street subway. Lake is a transfer station between the Red Line and the Brown, Green, Orange, Pink, and Purple Lines at the State/Lake station and the Blue Line at Washington via the Chicago Pedway. In 2019, Lake had an average of 19,364 weekday passenger entries, making it the busiest 'L' station.
California is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system, serving the Blue Line, From California, trains run every 2–7 minutes during rush-hour periods, and take 12 minutes to reach the Loop.
Western is an elevated rapid transit station on the Chicago "L"'s Blue Line, where it is located on the O'Hare branch. The station, opened in 1895, is located within the Bucktown neighborhood in the larger Logan Square community area. It has two side platforms at track level with a station house at street level.
Damen is a rapid transit station on the Chicago "L", currently serving the O'Hare branch of its Blue Line. Opened on May 6, 1895, as Robey, it is the oldest station on the Blue Line. The station serves the popular Bucktown and Wicker Park neighborhoods, and is consistently in the top 40 highest-ridership "L" stations. It has two wooden side platforms and a brick station house at street level. The west platform, serving southbound trains, contains a tower that has never been used but is a relic of the station's past. The station is served by three bus routes on Damen, Milwaukee, and North Avenues, which are each descended from streetcar lines on those streets in the early 20th century. The Blue Line has owl service; while the surrounding streetcar lines also had owl service in the early 20th century, the modern bus services do not.
Washington is an 'L' station on the CTA's Blue Line. It is situated between the Clark/Lake and Jackson stations in the Milwaukee-Dearborn subway and is near the Richard J. Daley Center.
Grand was a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's North Side Main Line, which is now part of the Brown Line. The station was located at Grand Avenue and Franklin Street in the Near North Side neighborhood of Chicago. Grand was situated south of Chicago and north of Merchandise Mart. Grand opened in 1921 to replace the Kinzie station and closed on September 20, 1970, due to low ridership.
The State Street subway is an underground section of the Chicago "L" system in The Loop which serves as the center of the Red Line. It is 4.9 mi (7.9 km) long and has a boarding average of 53,601 passengers every weekday as of February 2013. It owes its name to State Street which it runs below. Since the subway is operated by the Red Line, it serves passengers 24 hours a day/7 days a week and 365 days a year.
Ashland Avenue is a north-south street in Chicago, in whose grid system it is 1600W. It is 2 miles (3.2 km) west of State Street, the city's north-south baseline. It is one of the major streets on the city's west side.
Loomis Street is a north–south street in Chicago that is 1400 W in Chicago's grid system, making it 1.75 miles (2.82 km) west of the north–south baseline of State Street. It runs from the Chicago and Northwestern Railway tracks south, with interruptions, to Center Avenue in the suburb of Homewood. Between the railway tracks and the north branch of the Chicago River it is known as Noble Street and north of the River's north branch it is known as Southport Avenue. As Southport Avenue it goes up north to its intersection with Clark Street just south of Berteau. The street continues again at Argyle Street until Touhy Avenue as Glenwood Avenue.
The Lake Street Transfer station was a rapid transit station on the Chicago "L", serving as a transfer station between its Lake Street Elevated Railroad and the Logan Square branch of its Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad. Located where the Logan Square branch crossed over the Lake Street Elevated, it was in service from 1913 to 1951, when it was rendered obsolete by the opening of the Dearborn Street subway.
Marshfield was a rapid transit station on the Chicago "L" in service between 1895 and 1954. Constructed by the Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad, it was the westernmost station of the Metropolitan's main line, which then diverged into three branches. Marshfield was also served by the Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad (CA&E), an interurban, between 1905 and 1953.
Madison was a rapid transit station on the Chicago "L"'s Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad, serving its Logan Square branch from 1895 to 1951. The station was typical of those constructed by the Metropolitan, with a Queen Anne station house and two wooden side platforms adjacent to the tracks. For much of its existence, Madison served the nearby sports arena Chicago Stadium.
Grand was a rapid transit station on the Chicago "L"'s Logan Square branch, one of the several branches of the Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad. Located on Grand Avenue, the station was constructed by the Metropolitan in the early 1890s and began service on May 6, 1895.
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