Chicago "L" Transit System Sleep Facts

If the sound of trains helps you sleep, this one’s a dream. The Chicago “L” has been looping around since 1892, connecting the city via elevated tracks, subway tunnels, and the occasional headache. Ideal for fans of bedtime stories involving transit maps.

Transcript

Welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast,

Where I help you drift off one fact at a time.

I'm your host,

Benjamin Boster,

And today's episode is about the Chicago L Transit System.

Thanks to Georgiana Port for sponsoring today's episode.

The Chicago L,

Short for Elevated,

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 U.

S.

In terms of total route length at 102.

8 miles long as of 2014,

And the third busiest rapid transit system in the U.

S.

After the New York City subway and the Washington Metro.

As of January 2024,

The L had 1,

480 railcars operating across eight different routes on 224.

1 miles of track.

CTA trains make about 1,

888 trips each day,

Servicing 146 train stations.

In 2024,

The system had 127,

463,

400 rides,

Or about 360,

100 per weekday in the first quarter of 2025.

The L provides 24-hour service on the Red and Blue Lines,

Making Chicago,

New York,

And Copenhagen the only three cities in the world to offer 24-hour train service on some of their lines throughout their respective city limits.

The oldest sections of the Chicago L started operations in 1892,

Making it the second oldest rapid transit system in the Americas after the New York City's elevated lines.

The L gained its name from L spelled E-L because large parts of the system run on elevated track.

Portions of the network are in subway tunnels,

At grade level,

Or in open cuts.

The L has been credited for fostering the growth of Chicago's dense city core that is one of the city's distinguishing features.

And according to urban engineer Christoph Spieler,

The system stands out in the United States because it continued to invest in services even through the post-World War era growth of the expressway.

Its general use of alleyways instead of streets throughout its history and expressway mediums after the war better knit the system into the city and in pioneering ways.

It consists of eight rapid transit lines laid out in a spoke-hub distribution paradigm focusing transit towards the loop.

In a 2005 poll,

Chicago Tribune readers voted it one of the seven wonders of Chicago,

Behind the lakefront and Wrigley Field,

And ahead of Willis Tower,

Formerly the Sears Tower,

The Water Tower,

The University of Chicago,

And the Museum of Science and Industry.

The first L,

The Chicago and Southside Rapid Transit Railroad,

Began revenue service on June 6,

1892,

When a steam locomotive pulling four wooden coaches carrying more than a couple of dozen people departed the 39th Street station and arrived at the Congress Street Terminal 14 minutes later over tracks that are still in use by the Green Line.

Over the next year,

Service was extended to 63rd Street and Stony Island Avenue,

Then the Transportation Building of the World's Columbian Exposition in Jackson Park.

In 1893,

Trains began running on the Lake Street Elevated Railroad and in 1895 on the Metropolitan West Side Elevated,

Which had lines to Douglas Park,

Garfield Park,

Since replaced,

Humboldt Park,

Since demolished,

And Logan Square.

The Metropolitan was the United States' first non-exhibition rapid transit system powered by electric traction motors,

A technology whose practicality had been demonstrated in 1893 on the Intramural Railway at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

Two years later,

The Southside L introduced multiple-unit control,

In which the operator can control all the motorized cars in a train,

Not just the lead unit.

Electrification and MU control remain standard features of most of the world's rapid transit systems.

A drawback of early L service was that none of the lines entered the Central Business District.

Instead,

Trains dropped passengers at sub-terminals on the periphery,

Due to a state law at the time requiring approval by neighboring property owners for tracks built over public streets,

Something not easily obtained downtown.

This obstacle was overcome by the legendary traction magnate Charles Tyson Yerkes,

Who went on to play a pivotal role in the development of the London Underground,

And who was immortalized by Theodore Dreiser as the schemer Frank Copperwood in the Titan 1914 and other novels.

Yerkes,

Who controlled much of the city's streetcar system,

Obtained the necessary signatures through Cash and Guile.

At one point,

He secured a franchise to build a mile-long L over Van Buren Street from Wabash Avenue to Halsted Street,

Extracting the requisite majority from the pliable owners on the western half of the route,

Then building tracks chiefly over the eastern half where property owners had opposed him.

Designed by noted bridge builder John Alexander Low Waddle,

The elevated tracks used a multiple closed rivet system to withstand the forces of the passing train's kinetic energy.

The Union Loop opened in 1897 and greatly increased the rapid transit system's convenience.

Operation on the Yerkes-owned Northwestern Elevated,

Which built the north side L lines,

Began three years later,

Essentially completing the elevated infrastructure in the urban core,

Although extensions and branches continued to be constructed in outlying areas through the 1920s.

After 1911,

The L lines came under the control of Samuel Insull,

President of the Chicago Edison Electric Utility,

Now Commonwealth Edison.

Whose interest stemmed initially from the fact that trains were the city's largest consumer of electricity.

Insull instituted many improvements,

Including free transfers and through-routing,

Although he did not formally combine the original firms into the Chicago Rapid Transit Company until 1924.

He also bought three other Chicago Electrified Railroads,

The Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad,

Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad,

And South Shore Line Interurban Lines,

And ran the trains of the first two into downtown Chicago via the L tracks.

This period of relative prosperity ended when Insull's empire collapsed in 1932,

But later in the decade the city,

With the help of the federal government,

Accumulated sufficient funds to begin construction of two subway lines to supplement,

And some hoped,

Permit eventual replacement of the loop elevated.

As early as the 1920s,

Some city leaders wanted to replace the ugly elevated tracks.

These plans advanced in the 1970s under mayors Richard J.

Daley and Michael Blandick,

Until a public outcry against tearing down the popular L began,

Led by Chicago Tribune columnist Paul Gap and architect Harry Weese.

Instead,

The new mayor,

Jane Byrne,

Protected the elevated lines and directed their rehabilitation.

The State Street Subway opened on October 17th,

1943.

The Dearborn Subway,

On which work had been suspended during World War II,

Opened on February 25th,

1951.

The subways were constructed with the secondary purpose of serving as bomb shelters,

As evidenced by the close spacing of the support columns.

A more extensive plan proposed replacing the entire elevated system with subways.

The subway bypassed a number of tight curves and circuitous routings on the original elevated lines.

Milwaukee trains,

For example,

Originated on Chicago's northwest side,

But entered the loop of the southwest corner,

Speeding service for many riders.

By the 1940s,

The financial condition of the L and of Chicago mass transit in general had become too precarious to permit continued operation without subsidies,

And the necessary steps were taken to enable a public takeover.

In 1947,

The Chicago Transit Authority acquired the assets of the Chicago Rapid Transit Company and the Chicago Surface Lines,

Operator of the city's streetcars.

Over the next few years,

CTA modernized the L,

Replacing wooden cars with new steel ones,

And closing lightly used branch lines and stations,

Many of which had been spaced only a quarter mile apart.

Rail service to the O'Hare International Airport first opened in 1984,

And to the Midway International Airport in 1993.

That same year,

The CTA renamed all of its rail lines.

They are now identified by color.

The CTA introduced fare cards for the first time in 1997.

Later,

After assuming control of the L,

The CTA introduced A-B skip-stop service.

Under this service,

Trains were designated as either A or B trains,

And stations were alternately designated as A stations or B stations.

With heavily used stations designated as both A-B.

A trains would stop only at A,

And A-B stations and B trains would stop only at B and A-B stations.

Station signage carried the station's skip-stop letter,

And was also color-coded by skip-stop type.

A stations had red signage,

B stations had green signage,

And A-B stations had blue signage.

The system was designed to speed up lines by having train skip stations,

While still allowing for frequent service at the heavily used A-B stations.

A-B skip-stop service debuted on the Lake Street Elevated in 1948,

And the service proved effective as travel times were cut by a third.

By the 1950s,

The service was used throughout the system.

All lines used the A-B skip-stop service between the 1950s and the 1990s,

With the exception of the Evanston and Skokie lines,

Which were suburban-only lines and did not justify skip-stop service.

On the lines with branches,

Skip-stop service sent all A trains to one branch,

And B trains to another branch.

On what became the Blue Line,

A trains were routed on the Congress branch,

While B trains were sent to the Douglas branch.

On the North-South line,

A trains went to the Englewood branch,

And B trains went to the Jackson Park branch.

In both cases,

Individual stops were not skipped beyond the points where those branches diverged.

As time went by,

The time periods which employed skip-stop service gradually decreased,

As the waits at A and B stations became increasingly longer during non-peak service.

By the 1990s,

Use of the A-B skip-stop system was only used during rush hour service.

Another problem was that trains skipping stations to save time still could not pass the train that was directly ahead,

So skipping stations was not advantageous in all regards.

In 1993,

The CTA began to eliminate skip-stop service when it switched the southern branches of the West-South and North-South lines to improve rider efficiency,

Creating the current Red and Green Lines.

From this point,

Green Line trains made all stops along the entire route,

While Red Line trains stopped at all stations south of Harrison.

The elimination of A-B skip-stop service continued with the opening of the all-stop Orange Line and the conversion of the Brown Line to all-stop service.

In April 1995,

The last of the A-B skip-stop system was eliminated with the conversion of the O'Hare branch of the Blue Line and the Howard branch of the Red Line to all-stop service.

The removal of skip-stop service resulted in some increases in travel times and greatly increased ridership at former A-B stations due to increased train frequencies.

Station signage highlighting the former skip-stop patterns would remain into the 2000s when it was gradually replaced across the system.

The first air-conditioned cars were introduced in 1964.

The last pre-World War II cars were retired in 1973.

New lines were built in expressway medians,

A technique implemented in Chicago and followed by other cities worldwide.

The Congress branch,

Built in the median of the Eisenhower Expressway,

Replaced the Garfield Park L in 1958.

The Dan Ryan branch,

Built in the median of the Dan Ryan Expressway,

Opened on September 28,

1969,

Followed by an extension of the Milwaukee Elevated into the Kennedy Expressway in 1970.

As of 2014,

Chicago L trains run over a total of 224.

1 miles of track.

Ridership has been growing steadily after the CTA takeover,

Despite declining mass transit usage nationwide,

With an average of 594,

000 riders boarding each weekday in 1960 and 759,

866 in 2016,

Or 47% of all CTA rides.

Due to the loop flood in April 1992,

Ridership was at 418,

000 that year because CTA was forced to suspend operation for several weeks in both the state and Dearborn subways.

Used by the most heavily traveled lines.

Growing ridership has not been uniformly distributed.

Use of the north side lines is heavy and continues to grow,

While that of the west side and south side lines tend to remain stable.

Ridership on the north side brown line,

For instance,

Has increased 83% since 1979.

Necessitating a station reconstruction project to accommodate longer trains.

Annual traffic on the Howard branch of the red line,

Which reached 38.

7 million in 2010 and 40.

9 million in 2011,

Has exceeded the 1927 pre-war peak of 38.

5 million.

The section of the blue line between the loop and Logan Square,

Which serves once neglected but now bustling neighborhoods,

Such as Wicker Park,

Bucktown,

And Palmer Square,

Has seen a 54% increase in weekday riders since 1992.

On the other hand,

Weekday ridership on the south side portion of the green line which closed for two years for reconstruction from January 1994 to May 1996,

Was 50,

400 in 1978,

But only 13,

000 in 2006.

Boardings at the 95th Dan Ryan stop on the red line,

Though still among the system's busiest at 11,

100 riders per weekday as of February 2015,

Are less than half the peak volume in the 1980s.

In 1976,

Three north side L branches,

What were then known as the Howard,

Milwaukee,

And Ravenswood lines,

Accounted for 42% of non-downtown boardings.

Today,

With the help of the blue line extension to O'Hare,

They account for 58%.

The north side,

Which has historically been the highest density area of the city,

Reflects the Chicago building boom between 2000 and 2010,

Which is focused primarily on north side neighborhoods and downtown.

It may ease somewhat in the wake of the current high level of residential construction along the south lakefront.

For example,

Ridership at the linked Roosevelt stops on the green,

Orange,

And red lines,

Which serve the burgeoning South Loop neighborhood,

Has tripled since 1992,

With an average of 8,

000 boardings per weekday.

Patronage at the Cermak-Chinatown stop on the red line,

With 4,

000 weekday boardings,

Is at the highest level since the station opened in 1969.

The 2003 Chicago Central Area Plan proposed construction of the green line station at Cermak between Chinatown and the McCormick Place Convention Center,

In expectation of continued density growth in the vicinity.

The station opened in 2015.

Currently,

The red line and the blue line provide 24-hour service,

While all other lines operate from early morning to late night.

Prior to 1998,

The green line,

The purple line,

And the Douglas branch of the blue line,

The modern-day pink line,

Also had 24-hour service.

In the years of private ownership,

The Southside Elevated Railroad,

Now the Southside Elevated portion of the green line,

Provided 24-hour service,

A major advantage when compared to Chicago's cable railroads,

Which required daily overnight shutdown for cable maintenance.

In 2013,

The CTA introduced a new fare payment system called Ventra.

Ventra enables passengers to purchase individual tickets,

Passes,

Or transit value online,

By smartphone,

Or participating retail locations.

Ventra also works with CTA buses,

Pace,

Suburban buses,

And Metra,

Commuter rail.

Payment by a smartphone app,

The Ventra app,

Or by a contactless bank card is possible.

As of 2018,

The L uses a flat fare of $2.

50 for almost the entire system,

The only exception being O'Hare International Airport on the blue line,

At which passengers entering the station are charged a higher fare of $5.

Passengers leaving the system at this station are not charged this higher fare.

The higher fare is being charged for what the CTA considers premium-level service to O'Hare.

Use of the Midway International Airport station does not require this higher fare,

It only requires the $2.

50 regular fare.

The higher charge at O'Hare has been the source of some controversy in recent years because of the CTA's plan to eliminate the exemption from the premium fare for airport workers,

Transportation Security Administration workers,

And airline workers.

After protests from those groups,

The CTA extended the exemptions for six months.

Since 1993,

L lines have been officially identified by color,

Although older route names survive to some extent in CTA publications and popular usage to distinguish branches of longer lines.

Stations are found throughout Chicago,

As well as in the suburbs of Forest Park,

Oak Park,

And Evanston,

Wilmette,

Cicero,

Rosemont,

And Skokie.

Blue Line,

Consisting of the O'Hare-Milwaukee-Dearborn Subway and Congress branches.

The Blue Line extends from O'Hare International Airport through the loop via the Milwaukee-Dearborn Subway to the west side.

Trains travel to De Plaines Avenue and Forest Park via the Eisenhower Expressway median.

The route from O'Hare to Forest Park is 26.

93 miles long.

The number of stations is 33.

Until 1970,

The northern section of the Blue Line terminated at Logan Square.

During that time,

The line was called the Milwaukee Route after Milwaukee Avenue,

Which runs parallel to it.

In that year,

Service was extended to Jefferson Park via the Kennedy Expressway median,

And in 1984 to O'Hare.

The Blue Line is the second busiest,

With 176,

120 weekday boardings.

It operates 24 hours a day,

Seven days a week.

Brown Line,

Or Ravenswood Branch.

The Brown Line follows an 11.

4-mile route between the Kimbell Terminal in Albany Park and the loop in downtown Chicago.

In 2013,

The Brown Line had an average weekday ridership of 108,

529.

Green Line,

Consisting of the Lake Street Elevated,

Southside Elevated,

Ashland,

And East 63rd branches.

A completely elevated route utilizing the system's oldest segments,

Dating back to 1892.

The Green Line extends 20.

8 miles,

With 30 stops between Forest Park and Oak Park through the loop to the Southside.

South of the Garfield Station,

The line splits into two branches,

With trains terminating at Ashland 63rd in West Englewood and terminating at Cottage Grove 63rd in Woodlawn.

The East 63rd branch formally extended to Jackson Park,

But the portion of the line east of Cottage Grove,

Which ran above 63rd Street,

Was demolished in the 1980s and 1997 due to construction problems and was never rebuilt due to community demands.

The average number of weekday boardings in 2013 was 68,

230.

Orange Line or Midway Line The 13-mile-long Orange Line was constructed from 1987 until 1993 on existing railroad embankments and new concrete and steel elevated structure.

It runs from a station adjacent to Midway International Airport on the southwest side to the loop in downtown Chicago.

Average weekday ridership in 2013 was 58,

765.

Pink Line consisting of the Sir Mack Branch and Paulina Connector The Pink Line is an 11.

2-mile rerouting of former Blue Line Branch trains from 54th Sir Mack and Cicero by the previously non-revenue Paulina Connector and the Green Line on Lake Street to the loop.

Its average weekday ridership in 2013 was 31,

572.

The branch formerly ran to Oak Park Avenue in Berwyn,

2.

1 miles west of its current terminal.

In 1952,

Service on the portion of the line west of 54th Avenue closed,

And over the next decade,

The stations and tracks were demolished.

The street-level right-of-way is used to this day as parking,

Locally known as the L-Strip.

Purple Line consisting of the Evanston Shuttle and Evanston Express The Purple Line is a 3.

9-mile branch serving north suburban Evanston and Wilmette with express service to the loop during weekday rush hours.

The local service operates from the Linden Terminal in Wilmette through Evanston to the Howard Terminal on the north side of Chicago.

Where it connects with the Red and Yellow Lines.

The weekday rush hour express service continues from Howard to the loop,

Running non-stop on the 4-track line,

Used by the Red Line to Wilson Station,

Then serving Belmont Station,

Followed by all Brown Line stops to the loop.

2013 average weekday ridership was 42,

673 passenger boardings.

The stops from Belmont to Chicago Avenue were added in the 1990s to relieve crowding on the Red and Brown Lines.

The name Purple Line is a reference to nearby Northwestern University with four stops,

Davis,

Foster,

Noyes,

And Central.

Located just two blocks west of the university campus.

Red Line,

Consisting of the Northside Main Line,

State Street Subway,

And Dan Ryan Branch.

The Red Line is the busiest route,

With 234,

232 passenger boardings on an average weekday in 2013.

It includes 33 stations on its 26-mile route,

Traveling from Howard Terminal on the city's north side,

Through downtown Chicago via the State Street Subway,

Then down the Dan Ryan Expressway median to 95th Dan Ryan on the south side.

Despite its length,

The Red Line stops five miles short of the city's southern border.

Extension plans to the 130th are currently being considered.

The Red Line is one of two lines operating 24 hours a day,

Seven days a week,

And is the only CTAL line that goes to both Wrigley Field and Wright Field,

The homes of Chicago's Major League Baseball teams,

The Chicago Cubs,

And Chicago White Sox.

Railcars are stored at the Howard Yard on the north end of the line,

And at the 98th Yard at the south end.

Yellow Line,

Or Skokie-Swift.

The Yellow Line is a 4.

7-mile,

Three-station line that runs from the Howard Street Terminal to the Dempster-Skokie Terminal in north suburban Skokie.

The Yellow Line is the only L-Route that does not provide direct service to the Loop.

This line was originally part of the North Shore Line's rail service,

And was acquired by the CTA in the 1960s.

The Yellow Line previously operated as a non-stop shuttle until the downtown Skokie station,

Oakton-Skokie,

Opened on April 30,

2012.

Its average weekday ridership in 2013 was 6,

338 passenger boardings.

The Loop.

Brown,

Green,

Orange,

Pink,

And purple line express trains serve downtown Chicago via the Loop Elevated.

The Loop's eight stations average 72,

843 weekday boardings.

The orange line,

Purple line,

And the pink line run clockwise.

The brown line runs counterclockwise.

The green line runs in both directions through the north and east sides.

The other four lines circle the Loop and return to their starting points.

The Loop forms a rectangle roughly 0.

4 miles long east to west and 0.

6 miles long north to south.

The Loop crossing at Lake and Wells has been described in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's busiest railroad crossing.

Reviews

Listened to that one numerous times. It did its job every time! Thanks Ben!!

Thank you. I learned very little and I slept a lot 😴