Red Line (CTA)

Red Line
A Red Line train in the Jackson/State station
Overview
Status	Operational
Locale	Chicago, Illinois, USA
Termini	Howard 95th/Dan Ryan
Stations	33
Service
Type	Rapid transit
System	Chicago 'L'
Operator(s)	Chicago Transit Authority
Rolling stock	2400-series, 2600-series
History
Opened	February 21, 1993 (Current operation)
Technical
Line length	23.4 mi (37.7 km) (66 minutes)
Character	Underground and Elevated
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Route map Template:CTA Red Line

The Red Line, sometimes known as the Howard-Dan Ryan Line and the North-South Line, is a heavy rail line in Chicago, run by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) as part of the Chicago 'L' system. It is CTA's busiest rail line, with an average of 247,293 passengers boarding each weekday in 2011. The route is 23.4 miles (37.7 km) long (66-minute ride) with a total of 33 stations, from Rogers Park (Howard Street) on the City Limits north, through downtown Chicago, and to Roseland (95th/Dan Ryan) on the south. Like the Blue Line, the Red Line runs 24 hours/365 days a year; together with the Blue Line, it is only one of four mass-transit rail systems in the United States (the others being the PATCO Speedline, the PATH lines, and the New York City Subway) to do so.

Route

North Side Main Line

Main article: North Side Main Line (CTA)

Berwyn station is typical of stations on the northern section of the Red Line

Addison Station at Wrigley Field is served by Red Line trains.

The northern terminus of the Red Line is Howard Street in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago (7600 N. - 1700 W.), on the City Limits farthest north. The Red Line extends southeasterly on an elevated embankment structure about a half-mile (1 kilometer) west of the lakefront to Touhy Avenue then turns south along Glenwood Avenue to Morse station. From there the route swings on a sweeping reverse curve to the east to Sheridan Road, adjacent to Loyola University Chicago and continues southerly parallel to Broadway Avenue to the east (in Edgewater) and follows Broadway to Leland Avenue. From here, the route transitions from concrete embankment to steel elevated structure. The 'L' continues southward running adjacent the Graceland Cemetery, Irving Park Road and Sheffield Avenue from Uptown to Lincoln Park. The Brown Line (Ravenswood) joins the Red Line tracks just north of the Belmont Avenue station.

South of Belmont, Red and Brown Line trains run side-by-side on the four track North Side 'L' to Armitage. Red Line trains run on the two inside "express" tracks, only making a stop at Fullerton, and skipping Wellington, Diversey and Armitage.

State Street Subway

The entrance to the current portal, currently used by Red Line trains

After running through Armitage, the Red Line descends to a portal at Willow Street and enters the subway, turning southeast on Clybourn Avenue, east at Division Street, and south at State Street through the Loop to Roosevelt Road. South of Roosevelt Road, there is a junction, with one pair of tracks curving to the east and leaving the subway at 13th Street and connects to the old South Side 'L' near 16th and State Streets. This section was used from October 17, 1943 until February 21, 1993 when North Side trains were routed to Englewood and Jackson Park (today the south leg of the Green Line). It is now used for non-service train moves and emergency purposes. It will be use again starting in May 2013, because Red Line trains will be rerouted to the Green Line tracks because the Dan Ryan branch will be out of service for five months because they will be rebuilding the tracks from Cermak-Chinatown to 95th/Dan Ryan.

From the Red Line, passengers can directly transfer to any other Chicago 'L' line. This is unique to it and the Purple Line, when the Purple Line runs its rush hour route.

Dan Ryan Branch

A Red Line train in the median of Dan Ryan Expressway

A Red Line train approaches Cermak-Chinatown station from the north

At 13th Street the subway swings away from State Street on a reverse curve to the southwest then rises to another portal near 18th Street adjacent Metra's Rock Island District line. The Red Line bridges 18th Street and continues southward on a steel column pan concrete deck elevated structure to 24th Street. There is a stop at Cermak–Chinatown on this portion.

South of Cermak Road, the Red Line tracks enter the median strip of the Franklin Street Connector, a once-planned feeder branch of the Dan Ryan Expressway. The Red Line then tunnels beneath the expressway interchange between 28th and 30th Streets and continues the rest of the way to 95th Street in the median of the Dan Ryan Expressway (Interstate 90 & 94). Chicago pioneered using expressway medians for local 'L' train lines (the other two being the Eisenhower Expressway and Kennedy Expressways, which both carry portions of the Blue Line). The Red Line follows the Dan Ryan the rest of the way to the 95th Street terminal (9500 S. - 1 W.) in Roseland. The 98th Street Yard and Carhouse lie just south and east of the Dan Ryan-Bishop Ford Expressway interchange. Beyond the interchange, the Dan Ryan and Bishop Ford expressways continue towards the City's Limits south without a transit line in the median strip, but with a wide grass median where future extensions of the rapid transit line can be an option. Extensions going even further south are currently being planned for the Red Line, but no determination as of yet on whether the extension will continue on the median or become elevated. On this branch, the Red Line does not make any 'L' transfers.

Stations along the Red Line serve important Chicago landmarks such as Wrigley Field (Addison), U.S. Cellular Field and the Illinois Institute of Technology (Sox–35th), DePaul University (Fullerton), the Auditorium Building of Roosevelt University, and Loyola University Chicago (Loyola), as well as the Magnificent Mile and Chinatown.

In May 2013, the branch (along with all of its stations) will be closed for five months to allow the replacement of the rails and track bed.

Extension

Proposals are currently underway to extend the Red Line south from 95th Street. The CTA developed nine different proposed routes, one of which includes routing the Red Line down the median of the Bishop Ford Freeway and another in the median of Interstate 57. During an alternatives analysis meeting on April 11, 2007, CTA narrowed further study down to five possible routes, two for bus rapid transit and three for heavy rail (rapid) transit. The two bus routes would travel south from the 95th/Dan Ryan terminal either down Halsted Street or Michigan Avenue, while the heavy rail routes left for consideration were the Halsted and Michigan corridors (either underground or elevated) as well as the Union Pacific Railroad corridor (elevated or trench), which would traverse southeastward toward the South Shore Line. In October 2008 the CTA commissioned a $150,000-study of an extension due south to 130th/Stony Island in the community area of Roseland.

In December 2008, at the Screen 2 presentation of the federally mandated Alternatives Analysis Study, the possible corridors and modes of transit were furthered narrowed down to either Halsted Street (Bus Rapid Transit or elevated Heavy Rail Transit) and the Union Pacific Railroad corridor (elevated Heavy Rail Transit).

In December 2009, the CTA identified the Locally Preferred Alternative as the Union Pacific corridor. A map and description of the route are found here: [2] Multiple Environmental Impact Studies will be carried out, and will determine exact alignments and design.

The alignment consists of a new elevated rail line between 95th St and a new terminal station at 130th, paralleling a Union Pacific Railroad line through the Far South Side neighborhoods of Roseland, West Pullman, and Riverdale. In addition to the terminal station at 130th, three new stations would be built at 103rd Street, 111th Street, and 115th Street. Basic engineering, along with an environmental impact statement, are currently underway.

Operating fleet

Currently, the Red Line is operated with Boeing-Vertol-built 2400-series and Budd-built 2600-series rail cars, usually in mixed consists with 2600-series cars. Like the Blue Line, the Red Line runs 24 hours a day. Service has a 4 to 6 minute headway during peak periods with 8-car trains, and a 15 minute headway during the early morning hours with 4 to 8 car trains.

History

The Red Line was created in 1993, when the CTA adopted color-coded nomenclature for all of its 'L' routes. The oldest section of the line opened on May 31, 1900 on the north side between Wilson and Broadway Avenues and the Loop. It was constructed by the Northwestern Elevated Railroad. The route was extended to Central Street in Evanston on May 16, 1908 via leased and electrified trackage belonging to the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway. In November, 1913, the North Side 'L' was through routed with the South Side 'L' lines through the Loop. The ground-level section between Leland Avenue and Howard Street was elevated on a concrete embankment structure and widened to four tracks in 1922.

The State Street Subway was completed in 1943, providing two new tracks bypassing the Loop tracks and the portion of the North and South Side 'L' lines not equipped with express tracks. By providing an express route free of the most restrictive curves on the Chicago 'L' and shorter than the old line it supplemented (thanks to use of a diagonal street, Clybourn Avenue, for one leg of the route), the subway reduced running time by as much as eleven minutes for a one-way trip. The route was placed in operation on October 17, 1943, for a portion of the through north-south trains, although other trains continued to use the 'L' both on through trips and on services circling the Loop and returning to the point of origin.

On August 1, 1949, the North-South route was revised to create a more efficient routing through the Central Business District and handle the heavy volumes of passenger traffic using it. Thus, the Howard line was combined with the Jackson Park-Englewood lines through the State Street Subway, and the other lines routed to the Loop 'L'.

The Dan Ryan Branch opened on September 28, 1969, and was originally combined with the Lake Street line to form the West-South route (Lake-Dan Ryan). It operated over the Lake Street and Wabash Avenue sides of the Union Loop. This "interim" service was created mainly for the purpose of providing through service between the west side and the south side in anticipation of the 1968 Loop Subway Project. When the controversial subway project was cancelled in 1979, the Lake-Dan Ryan service remained, and lasted for 24 years.

A 2600 series car brings up the rear of a Red Line train (temporarily rerouted through the elevated tracks of the Chicago Loop) at Randolph/Wabash.

For much of the twentieth century, the Howard-Englewood/Jackson Park route was equally compatible in terms of passenger traffic until the late 1960s through the 1970s. However, passenger traffic volumes began to shift on the south side lines, with more riders using the newer Dan Ryan line (which runs four miles (6 km) further south) and fewer riders on the older 'L' lines. This imbalance of service allowed the CTA to develop a more efficient system by combining the more heavily used rail lines together, and the weaker lines with each other, providing increased service capacity for the routes that need it. On February 21, 1993, a connection was opened from south of Roosevelt to Cermak-Chinatown, and the Howard branch was combined with the Dan Ryan branch creating the current Red Line, and the Lake Street branch was paired with the Englewood-Jackson Park routes to form the Green Line. A further operational benefit of this switch was that this freed up capacity in the Loop needed for the addition of Orange Line trains from Midway Airport.

The Dan Ryan branch of the Red Line underwent a rehabilitation period to improve its aging infrastructure which ended in early 2007. This work included upgrading the power and signal systems, and rehabilitating the stations with improved lighting, a cleaner appearance, and new escalators and elevators. The CTA has plans to expand Red Line service to ten car trains from the current eight-car trains.

Red Ahead

In the spring of 2012, the CTA 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 doesn't include the stations of Loyola, Bryn Mawr, Sheridan, or Wilson. This also doesn't include stations between Wilson through Fullerton, nor the State Street Subway. In May 2012, the CTA started to work on the North Side Main Line stations of the Red Line 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 is scheduled to continue to December. This project is also part of the Red Ahead's "Red & Purple Modernization" project.

Station listing

Chicago Transit Authority Chicago 'L' route map

North Side Main Line: Howard Branch
Station	Location	Transfers	Points of interest and notes
Howard	7519 N. Paulina Street	Purple Line   Yellow Line	Rogers Park, Connection to Evanston Transfer station for Yellow and Purple Lines
Jarvis	1523 W. Jarvis Avenue	—	Rogers Park, Emil Bach House
Morse	1358 W. Morse Avenue	—	Rogers Park, Heartland Cafe
Loyola	1200 W. Loyola Avenue	—	Rogers Park, Loyola University Chicago Lakeshore Campus
Granville	1119 W. Granville Avenue	—	Edgewater, Berger Park
Thorndale	1118 W. Thorndale Avenue	—	Edgewater, Edgewater Public Library, Thorndale Beach;
Bryn Mawr	1119 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue	—	Edgewater, Bryn Mawr Historic District, Edgewater Beach Hotel, Hollywood Beach
Berwyn	1121 W. Berwyn Avenue	—	Edgewater, Foster Beach; Temporarily closed until November 16, 2012.
Argyle	1118 W. Argyle Street	—	Uptown, New Chinatown, Essanay Studios, St. Augustine College, Bachman House, Bezazian Public Library
Lawrence	1117 W. Lawrence Avenue	—	Uptown, Uptown Theatre, Riviera Theatre, Aragon Ballroom
Wilson	4620 N. Broadway	—	Uptown, Harry S Truman College
Buena	Buena Avenue and Kenmore Avenue	—	Closed August 1, 1949
Sheridan	3940 N. Sheridan Road	—	Graceland Cemetery, Howard Brown Health Center, Thorek Memorial Hospital
Grace	Grace Street and Sheffield Avenue	—	Closed August 1, 1949
Addison	940 W. Addison Street	—	Lakeview, Wrigley Field- home of the Chicago Cubs, Metro, Wrigleyville, Center on Halsted, the I.O. Theater, formerly improvolympic
Clark	Clark Street and Roscoe Street	—	Closed August 1, 1949
Belmont	945 W. Belmont Avenue	Purple Line   Brown Line	Lakeview, Briar Street Theatre, Boystown, The Vic Theatre Transfer station for Purple and Brown Lines
Fullerton	943 W. Fullerton Avenue	Purple Line   Brown Line	Lincoln Park, DePaul University, Children's Memorial Hospital, St. Josaphat Roman Catholic Church, Biograph Theater Transfer station for Purple and Brown Lines
State Street Subway
North/Clybourn	1599 N. Clybourn Avenue	—	Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Goose Island Brewery, Chicago History Museum, Apple Store
Clark/Division	1200 N. Clark Street	—	Newberry Library, Walter Payton College Prep High School, Gold Coast, Old Town
Chicago	800 N. State Street	—	John Hancock Center, Chicago Water Tower, Water Tower Place, Loyola University Chicago Water Tower Campus, Moody Bible Institute, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Museum of Contemporary Art, Holy Name Cathedral, River North, Gold Coast
Grand	521 N. State Street	—	Navy Pier, Medinah Temple, Rock N Roll McDonald's, River North, Streeterville
Lake	188 N. State Street	Orange Line   Green Line   Pink Line   Purple Line   Brown Line	Chicago Theatre, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago City Hall, Richard J. Daley Center, Macy's , and Metra Electric and South Shore Line trains via the Pedway to Millennium Station.
Washington	128 N. State Street	—	Closed October 23, 2006; Former transfer station for Blue Line, Metra trains (Metra Electric Line), and South Shore Line
Monroe	26 S. State Street	—	Art Institute of Chicago, Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building
Jackson	230 S. State Street	Blue Line   Orange Line   Pink Line   Purple Line   Brown Line	Grant Park, Petrillo Music Shell, Buckingham Fountain, Harold Washington Library Center, DePaul University, Robert Morris University, John Marshall Law School, Chicago Bar Association and The Auditorium Building of Roosevelt University
Harrison	608 S. State Street	—	Columbia College Chicago, Dearborn Station, Printing House Row District, Jones College Prep
Roosevelt	1167 S. State Street	Orange Line   Green Line   Metra Electric   South Shore Line	Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium, Northerly Island (formerly Meigs Field), Soldier Field-Home of Chicago Bears Transfer station for Orange and Green Lines
Dan Ryan Branch
Cermak–Chinatown	138 W. Cermak Road	—	Chinatown, McCormick Place, Hilliard Homes
Sox–35th	142 W. 35th Street	—	U.S. Cellular Field (formerly Comiskey Park), home of the Chicago White Sox, Illinois Institute of Technology
47th	220 W. 47th Street	—	Canaryville, Bronzeville, Fuller Park
Garfield	220 W. Garfield Boulevard	—	Main connecting point for the University of Chicago and the Museum of Science and Industry
63rd	220 W. 63rd Street	—	Urban Prep Charter Academy for Young Men
69th	15 W. 69th Street	—
79th	15 W. 79th Street	—	Chatham, Chicago
87th	15 W. 87th Street	—	Chatham-Ridge Shopping Center
95th/Dan Ryan	14 W. 95th Street	—	Chicago State University, Trinity United Church of Christ, Woodson Regional Library, John Marshall Harlan Community Academy High School

Proposed stations

Red Line extension
Station	Location	Transfers	Points of interest and notes
103rd	TBD	—	Proposed station scheduled to open by 2018; Pullman, Washington Heights, Corliss High School, Olive-Harvey College
111th	TBD	—	Proposed station scheduled to open by 2018; Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory Academy, Palmer Park, Pullman Historic District
115th	TBD	—	Proposed station scheduled to open by 2018; West Pullman, Fenger Academy High School, S. A. Foster House and Stable
130th	TBD	—	Proposed station scheduled to open by 2018; Altgeld Gardens, Hegewisch, Riverdale, Carver Military Academy, Dolton

References

6.http://www.transitchicago.com/redeis/default.aspx

External links

• Red Line at Chicago-'L'.org
• Train schedules at CTA official site