Chicago "L"

"Chicago subway" redirects here. For the underground segments of the Chicago "L", see State Street subway and Milwaukee–Dearborn subway.
Chicago "L"
A Pink Line train approaches Randolph/Wabash.
A Pink Line train approaches Randolph/Wabash.
Overview
LocaleChicago, Illinois, and suburbs, United States
Transit typeRapid transit
Number of lines8[1]
Line number
Number of stations146[1]
Daily ridership400,000 (weekdays, Q2 2024)[2]
Annual ridership117,447,000 (2023)[3]
Chief executiveDorval R. Carter, Jr.
Headquarters567 West Lake Street
Chicago, Illinois
Websitewww.transitchicago.com Edit this at Wikidata
Operation
Began operationJune 6, 1892; 132 years ago (1892-06-06)[1]
Operator(s)Chicago Transit Authority
Technical
System length102.8 mi (165.4 km)[1][note 1]
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Minimum radius of curvature90 feet (27.432 m)
ElectrificationThird rail, 600 V DC
Top speed55 mph (90 km/h)

The Chicago "L" (short for "elevated")[4] 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,[1][note 1] and the third-busiest rapid transit system in the United States after the New York City Subway and the Washington Metro.[5] As of January 2024, the "L" had 1,480 rail cars operating across eight different routes on 224.1 miles of track. CTA trains make about 1,888 trips each day servicing 146 train stations.[6] In 2023, the system had 117,447,000 rides, or about 400,000 per weekday in the second quarter of 2024.[7]

The "L" provides 24-hour service on the Red and Blue Lines, making Chicago, New York City, 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.[note 2] The oldest sections of the Chicago "L" started operations in 1892,[8] making it the second-oldest rapid transit system in the Americas, after New York City's elevated lines. The "L" gained its name from "el" because large parts of the system run on elevated track.[9][10] Portions of the network are in subway tunnels, at grade level, or in open cuts.[1]

The "L" has been credited for fostering the growth of Chicago's dense city core that is one of the city's distinguishing features.[11] And according to urban engineer Christof Speiler, 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.[12] 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.[13]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "CTA Facts at a Glance". Chicago: Chicago Transit Authority. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  2. ^ "Transit Ridership Report Second Quarter 2024" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  3. ^ "Transit Ridership Report Fourth Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. March 4, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  4. ^ "Our Services". Chicago Transit Authority. Archived from the original on August 12, 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2006.
  5. ^ Bonina, Jared. "Public Transportation Ridership Report: Fourth Quarter 2023" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  6. ^ "CTA Facts at a Glance". CTA. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  7. ^ "PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION RIDERSHIP REPORT" (PDF). APTA. July 2, 2024. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  8. ^ "Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Fast Facts". CNN. Chicago: Warner Bros. Discovery. August 9, 2018. Retrieved February 8, 2019 – via CBS Chicago.
  9. ^ Garfield, Graham (November 8, 2008). "Frequently Asked Questions". Chicago-L.org. Retrieved February 23, 2010.
  10. ^ McClendon, Dennis. "L". Encyclopedia of Chicago. ChicagoHistory.org. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  11. ^ Cudahy, Brian J. (1982). Destination Loop: The Story of Rapid Transit Railroading in and around Chicago. Brattleboro, VT: S. Greene Press. ISBN 978-0-8289-0480-3.
  12. ^ Speiler, Christof (2018). Trains, Buses, People. Washington, D.C.: Island Press. p. 68-72. ISBN 9781610919029.
  13. ^ Leroux, Charles (September 15, 2005). "The People Have Spoken: Here Are the 7 Wonders of Chicago". Chicago Tribune. Chicago: Tribune Publishing. Retrieved October 30, 2024.


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