Amalgamated Transit Union
The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) is a labor union in the United States and Canada, representing workers in the transit system and other industries.
The ATU was founded in 1892, and today has more than 180,000 members in more than 273 local unions in 46 states and 9 provinces. The ATU includes bus, subway, light rail and ferry operators, clerks, baggage handlers, mechanics and others in the urban transit, over-the-road and school bus industries, as well as paratransit, emergency medical, clerical and municipal workers.
It lost a bitter strike against the Greyhound Lines in 1983. A bitter 38-month strike against Greyhound launched in 1990 was finally settled in 1993. The ATU consolidated the twenty different "locals" that had once represented Greyhound employees into one: Local 1700.
In October 2003, it supported a strike of mechanics against Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority in Los Angeles over the cost and control of its benefit plan. The union avoided the benefit cost increases demanded by the MTA, while deferring resolution over other issues.
Its current International President is Warren S. George, who assumed office on July 1, 2003.
A similar union affiliate with AFL-CIO is the Transport Workers Union of America, which represents transit workers at the New York City Transit Authority.
External links
Amalgamated Transit Union
"The Great Greyhound Strikes" (Mineta Transportation Institute College of Business commentary and analysis)
Ward 49 of the City of Chicago includes most of Rogers Park and parts of West Ridge.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Dominick's
Dominick's
Dominick's is a grocery store chain with chains mainly in the Chicago area, Illinois, USA. Dominick's distribution center is located in Northlake while their management offices are located in Oak Brook.
History
Founding
Dominick DiMatteo founded the chain in 1918. It was started as a regular neighborhood store, with fresh foods. Employees and customers were even on a first-name basis with each other. The second Dominick's opened in 1934. In 1950 the DiMatteos opened their first supermarket, a 14,000 square foot store.[1]
Expansion
By 1968 the chain had reached 19 stores. The family elected to sell their store to the Cleveland company, Fisher Foods. The DiMatteos continued to operate the chain under the financial backing of Fisher Foods. By the 1980s the family became unhappy with the agreement and bought back the chain for $100 million.[1] The DiMatteos took no time to continue expansion and acquired Kohl and Eagle stores.
Store design during Dominick's heyday
During the 1980's and early 1990's, Dominick's experimented with new large "food and drug" combo stores. The stores often differed from Dominick's large Chicago area competitor Jewel-Osco, in the fact that Dominick's was the first to experiment with exposed ceiling sales areas, exposed structural elements such as piping and HVAC ducts, large scale state of the art telephone systems and POS systems, video departments, one hour photo, bulk foods, and many other "new" 1980's concepts.
During the 1990s, Dominick's took the "food and drug" combo to the next level with the introduction of the Dominick's Fresh Store, under the direction of then CEO Bob Mariano. The Dominick's "Fresh Store" introduced prepared foods, in store restaurants/cafes, Starbucks cafes, soft lighting, upscale subtle graphics, uniform products signage, and a general European Market feel to the Dominick's stores. During the late 1990's, the Fresh Stores were the main expansion model for Dominick's and was rolled out to all new stores including former Omni Superstores, up until the purchase by Safeway.
Safeway bought Dominick's in 1998 and put an abrupt halt to the Bob Mariano styled Fresh Stores and instead rolled out their own prototype with the Fresh Store logo on the outside of the store. Even though Safeway still put "The Fresh Store" cursive logo on the outside of the stores, the Fresh Store concepts such as cafes, fresh prepared foods and European store layout format were phased out in favor of Safeway's own store layout and house brands such as Safeway Select. This caused many customers to stop shopping at Dominick's. Only lately, has Safeway regained market share with Dominick's by their introduction of the new "Lifestyle Format" which greatly reflects many of the concepts of the former Fresh Stores Bob Mariano created in the 1990's. [2]
1990s: Takeovers
In 1993, Dominick DiMatteo died. According to the local press, his daughters and son did not have the same passion for the supermarket business.There was corporate infighting that also contributed to the family selling the chain. It took three years before the company was sold to a Los-Angeles-based grocery investment firm headed by Yucaipa Co.[3] Starting in 1996, Dominick's "Fresh Stores" were developed by then president Bob Mariano, and stores starting having various new services, such as carry-out food, specialty bakeries, delis, floral shops, and in-store dining. The stores were a hit and made higher profits than traditional supermarkets.
In 1998, the chain's then 116 stores were acquired by Safeway Inc. Safeway soon began to push Safeway private-label products and eliminated local known brands. According to Jim Hertel of grocery consultancy Willard Bishop Consulting Ltd., "Dominick’s focused on purchasing produce and meat on quality first, price second. Safeway did just the opposite."[4] Dominick's lost market share and profits following the Safeway takeover. Between 2002 and 2007, Dominick's market share in the Chicago region declined from 24.4 percent to 14.5 percent. Jewel-Osco's 40.5 percent is the market's leader.[5] During labor negotiations in 2003, Safeway unsuccessfully attempted to sell Dominick's,[6] and reported Dominick's financial information as a discontinued operation,[7] but, more recently, Safeway announced that it was retaining the chain.[8]
After closing more than 20 stores since its acquisition, Safeway announced in February 2007 that it would close another 14 stores in the Chicago area and convert 20 existing stores to the lifestyle format.[9] After the store closings, Dominick's operates 83 locations.
Omni Superstore
In 1987, the chain opened Omni Superstore locations, which were "warehouse-style" supermarkets to stave off Cub Foods supermarkets. Besides traditional food items, these stores featured non-food items, movie rentals stores, and bulk items. The stores design was stark in comparison to Dominick's and featured cost-cutting techniques.
These stores began to lose money due to lack of loss prevention and throwaway inventorying. Around 1996 then-owner Yucaipa decided to convert them to the Dominick's "Fresh Store" concept.
After Dominick's was acquired by Safeway some locations were closed. Crestwood, McHenry and Clybourn Avenue Dominick's in Chicago are the only remaining Omni Superstore buildings now occupied by Dominick's.
Brands
Dominick's private label brands vary between those branded for Safeway and ones branded Dominick's. Safeway's most notable private label is Safeway Select. In 2006 Safeway released a private brand of organics named "O Organics".
Lifestyle branding
On April 18, 2005, Safeway, Dominick's parent company, began a 100 million dollar brand re-positioning campaign labeled "Ingredients for life". Although the campaign is used in the Chicago area, the "Ingredients for Life" slogan is not positioned with the store's logo like it is for Safeway's other divisions (i.e. at the end of commercials and on billboards only Dominick's logo is flashed, not a logo combined with the slogan, as used in Safeway's other divisions). Under this campaign many stores will be drastically remodeled to the new format. Lifestyle stores feature more upscale trends than Dominick's last re-branding, "Fresh Stores." Usually Lifestyle stores feature an olive bar, carving station, Starbucks, and a sushi bar. Architectural changes include hardwood flooring and new direct lighting schemes that tend to be less abrasive. While Safeway's logo was redesigned under the campaign, present Lifestyle stores feature the traditional Dominick's logo. The first Dominick's to be branded a Lifestyle store was in Northfield.[3]
Banking
Realizing the ease of in-store banking, Dominick's formed an agreement with First Chicago NBD Corp., the first bank opened in 1995. Today many Dominick's feature in-store bank locations and ATMs by First Chicago successor, Chase.[1]
External links
Dominick's
Dominick's is a grocery store chain with chains mainly in the Chicago area, Illinois, USA. Dominick's distribution center is located in Northlake while their management offices are located in Oak Brook.
History
Founding
Dominick DiMatteo founded the chain in 1918. It was started as a regular neighborhood store, with fresh foods. Employees and customers were even on a first-name basis with each other. The second Dominick's opened in 1934. In 1950 the DiMatteos opened their first supermarket, a 14,000 square foot store.[1]
Expansion
By 1968 the chain had reached 19 stores. The family elected to sell their store to the Cleveland company, Fisher Foods. The DiMatteos continued to operate the chain under the financial backing of Fisher Foods. By the 1980s the family became unhappy with the agreement and bought back the chain for $100 million.[1] The DiMatteos took no time to continue expansion and acquired Kohl and Eagle stores.
Store design during Dominick's heyday
During the 1980's and early 1990's, Dominick's experimented with new large "food and drug" combo stores. The stores often differed from Dominick's large Chicago area competitor Jewel-Osco, in the fact that Dominick's was the first to experiment with exposed ceiling sales areas, exposed structural elements such as piping and HVAC ducts, large scale state of the art telephone systems and POS systems, video departments, one hour photo, bulk foods, and many other "new" 1980's concepts.
During the 1990s, Dominick's took the "food and drug" combo to the next level with the introduction of the Dominick's Fresh Store, under the direction of then CEO Bob Mariano. The Dominick's "Fresh Store" introduced prepared foods, in store restaurants/cafes, Starbucks cafes, soft lighting, upscale subtle graphics, uniform products signage, and a general European Market feel to the Dominick's stores. During the late 1990's, the Fresh Stores were the main expansion model for Dominick's and was rolled out to all new stores including former Omni Superstores, up until the purchase by Safeway.
Safeway bought Dominick's in 1998 and put an abrupt halt to the Bob Mariano styled Fresh Stores and instead rolled out their own prototype with the Fresh Store logo on the outside of the store. Even though Safeway still put "The Fresh Store" cursive logo on the outside of the stores, the Fresh Store concepts such as cafes, fresh prepared foods and European store layout format were phased out in favor of Safeway's own store layout and house brands such as Safeway Select. This caused many customers to stop shopping at Dominick's. Only lately, has Safeway regained market share with Dominick's by their introduction of the new "Lifestyle Format" which greatly reflects many of the concepts of the former Fresh Stores Bob Mariano created in the 1990's. [2]
1990s: Takeovers
In 1993, Dominick DiMatteo died. According to the local press, his daughters and son did not have the same passion for the supermarket business.There was corporate infighting that also contributed to the family selling the chain. It took three years before the company was sold to a Los-Angeles-based grocery investment firm headed by Yucaipa Co.[3] Starting in 1996, Dominick's "Fresh Stores" were developed by then president Bob Mariano, and stores starting having various new services, such as carry-out food, specialty bakeries, delis, floral shops, and in-store dining. The stores were a hit and made higher profits than traditional supermarkets.
In 1998, the chain's then 116 stores were acquired by Safeway Inc. Safeway soon began to push Safeway private-label products and eliminated local known brands. According to Jim Hertel of grocery consultancy Willard Bishop Consulting Ltd., "Dominick’s focused on purchasing produce and meat on quality first, price second. Safeway did just the opposite."[4] Dominick's lost market share and profits following the Safeway takeover. Between 2002 and 2007, Dominick's market share in the Chicago region declined from 24.4 percent to 14.5 percent. Jewel-Osco's 40.5 percent is the market's leader.[5] During labor negotiations in 2003, Safeway unsuccessfully attempted to sell Dominick's,[6] and reported Dominick's financial information as a discontinued operation,[7] but, more recently, Safeway announced that it was retaining the chain.[8]
After closing more than 20 stores since its acquisition, Safeway announced in February 2007 that it would close another 14 stores in the Chicago area and convert 20 existing stores to the lifestyle format.[9] After the store closings, Dominick's operates 83 locations.
Omni Superstore
In 1987, the chain opened Omni Superstore locations, which were "warehouse-style" supermarkets to stave off Cub Foods supermarkets. Besides traditional food items, these stores featured non-food items, movie rentals stores, and bulk items. The stores design was stark in comparison to Dominick's and featured cost-cutting techniques.
These stores began to lose money due to lack of loss prevention and throwaway inventorying. Around 1996 then-owner Yucaipa decided to convert them to the Dominick's "Fresh Store" concept.
After Dominick's was acquired by Safeway some locations were closed. Crestwood, McHenry and Clybourn Avenue Dominick's in Chicago are the only remaining Omni Superstore buildings now occupied by Dominick's.
Brands
Dominick's private label brands vary between those branded for Safeway and ones branded Dominick's. Safeway's most notable private label is Safeway Select. In 2006 Safeway released a private brand of organics named "O Organics".
Lifestyle branding
On April 18, 2005, Safeway, Dominick's parent company, began a 100 million dollar brand re-positioning campaign labeled "Ingredients for life". Although the campaign is used in the Chicago area, the "Ingredients for Life" slogan is not positioned with the store's logo like it is for Safeway's other divisions (i.e. at the end of commercials and on billboards only Dominick's logo is flashed, not a logo combined with the slogan, as used in Safeway's other divisions). Under this campaign many stores will be drastically remodeled to the new format. Lifestyle stores feature more upscale trends than Dominick's last re-branding, "Fresh Stores." Usually Lifestyle stores feature an olive bar, carving station, Starbucks, and a sushi bar. Architectural changes include hardwood flooring and new direct lighting schemes that tend to be less abrasive. While Safeway's logo was redesigned under the campaign, present Lifestyle stores feature the traditional Dominick's logo. The first Dominick's to be branded a Lifestyle store was in Northfield.[3]
Banking
Realizing the ease of in-store banking, Dominick's formed an agreement with First Chicago NBD Corp., the first bank opened in 1995. Today many Dominick's feature in-store bank locations and ATMs by First Chicago successor, Chase.[1]
External links
Dominick's
Samuel Insull
Samuel Insull
Samuel Insull (November 11, 1859 – July 16, 1938) was an investor in and from Chicago who was known for purchasing utilities and railroads. He contributed to creating an integrated electrical infrastructure in the United States. He was also responsible for the building of the Chicago Civic Opera House in 1929.
Early life
Samuel Insull was born in London, and began his career as a clerk for various local businesses. At the age of 21 he caught the attention of Thomas Edison while working for Edison's business representative in London. Edison offered Insull a job as his personal secretary, and Insull emigrated to the United States in 1881. In the decade that followed Insull took on increasing responsibilities in Edison's business endeavors, building electrical power stations throughout the United States. With several other Edison Pioneers he founded Edison General Electric, which later became the publicly held company General Electric.
Life in Chicago
In 1892, Insull left General Electric and moved to Chicago to take over the presidency of Chicago Edison (later Commonwealth Edison). He began purchasing portions of the utility infrastructure of the city. When it became clear that Westinghouse's support of alternating current was to win out over Edison's direct current, Insull switched his support to AC.
His Chicago area holdings came to include Commonwealth Edison, Peoples Gas, and the Northern Indiana Public Service Company, and held shares of many more utilities. Insull also owned significant portions of many railroads, mainly electric interurban streetcar lines, including the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad, Chicago Rapid Transit Company, Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad, and Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad. He helped modernize these railroads and others.
As a result of owning all these diverse companies, Insull is credited with being one of the early proponents for regulation of industry. He saw that federal and state regulation would recognize electric utilities as natural monopolies, allowing them to grow with little competition and to sell electricity to broader segments of the market. He used economies of scale to overcome market barriers by cheaply producing electricity with large steam turbines. This made it easier to put electricity into homes.
Insull lived outside Libertyville, Illinois, in a mansion now known as the Cuneo Museum, in Vernon Hills.[1]
Great Depression
In Illinois, Insull had long battled with Harold L. Ickes over concerns that Insull was exploiting his customers. Upon the promotion of Ickes to Interior Secretary in 1933, Insull had a powerful foe in the Roosevelt administration. Due to the highly-leveraged structure of Insull's holdings (he invented the holding company and controlled an empire of $500 million with only $27 million in equity), his holding company collapsed during the Great Depression, leaving 600,000 shareholders ruined. This led to the enactment of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935.
Insull fled the country to Greece, but was later extradited back to the United States by Turkey to face federal prosecution on mail fraud and antitrust charges. He was defended by famous Chicago lawyer Floyd Thompson and found not guilty on all counts.
Death
According to The New York Times, Mr. and Mrs. Insull had arrived in Paris to see the French Bastille Day festivities. He rose at about 7 a.m. so as not to miss the show. Mr. Insull suffered from a heart ailment, and his wife had asked him not to take the Métro because it was bad for his heart. Nevertheless, Mr. Insull had made frequent declarations that he was "now a poor man" and descended a long flight of stairs at the Place de la Concorde station and died of a heart attack just as he stepped toward the ticket taker. [1]
He is reputed to have died penniless, but he did not. The myth started when his corpse was looted by a Parisian for his wallet.
Insull was buried on July 23, 1938 in Putney Vale Cemetery, London, the city of his birth.
While her husband was alive, Mrs. Gladys Insull had vowed never to return to Chicago and the society that had shunned her. She eventually became homesick for her family and returned to stay in Chicago with her son Sam Insull Jr. She died on September 23, 1953.
External links
TIME magazine cover photo of Samuel Insull, November 29, 1926
TIME magazine cover photo of Samuel Insull, November 4, 1929
TIME magazine cover photo of Samuel Insull, May 14, 1934
PBS: Photo of Samuel Insull with Thomas Edison
Encyclopedia Britannica Concise: Photo of Samuel Insull
Samuel Insull (November 11, 1859 – July 16, 1938) was an investor in and from Chicago who was known for purchasing utilities and railroads. He contributed to creating an integrated electrical infrastructure in the United States. He was also responsible for the building of the Chicago Civic Opera House in 1929.
Early life
Samuel Insull was born in London, and began his career as a clerk for various local businesses. At the age of 21 he caught the attention of Thomas Edison while working for Edison's business representative in London. Edison offered Insull a job as his personal secretary, and Insull emigrated to the United States in 1881. In the decade that followed Insull took on increasing responsibilities in Edison's business endeavors, building electrical power stations throughout the United States. With several other Edison Pioneers he founded Edison General Electric, which later became the publicly held company General Electric.
Life in Chicago
In 1892, Insull left General Electric and moved to Chicago to take over the presidency of Chicago Edison (later Commonwealth Edison). He began purchasing portions of the utility infrastructure of the city. When it became clear that Westinghouse's support of alternating current was to win out over Edison's direct current, Insull switched his support to AC.
His Chicago area holdings came to include Commonwealth Edison, Peoples Gas, and the Northern Indiana Public Service Company, and held shares of many more utilities. Insull also owned significant portions of many railroads, mainly electric interurban streetcar lines, including the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad, Chicago Rapid Transit Company, Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad, and Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad. He helped modernize these railroads and others.
As a result of owning all these diverse companies, Insull is credited with being one of the early proponents for regulation of industry. He saw that federal and state regulation would recognize electric utilities as natural monopolies, allowing them to grow with little competition and to sell electricity to broader segments of the market. He used economies of scale to overcome market barriers by cheaply producing electricity with large steam turbines. This made it easier to put electricity into homes.
Insull lived outside Libertyville, Illinois, in a mansion now known as the Cuneo Museum, in Vernon Hills.[1]
Great Depression
In Illinois, Insull had long battled with Harold L. Ickes over concerns that Insull was exploiting his customers. Upon the promotion of Ickes to Interior Secretary in 1933, Insull had a powerful foe in the Roosevelt administration. Due to the highly-leveraged structure of Insull's holdings (he invented the holding company and controlled an empire of $500 million with only $27 million in equity), his holding company collapsed during the Great Depression, leaving 600,000 shareholders ruined. This led to the enactment of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935.
Insull fled the country to Greece, but was later extradited back to the United States by Turkey to face federal prosecution on mail fraud and antitrust charges. He was defended by famous Chicago lawyer Floyd Thompson and found not guilty on all counts.
Death
According to The New York Times, Mr. and Mrs. Insull had arrived in Paris to see the French Bastille Day festivities. He rose at about 7 a.m. so as not to miss the show. Mr. Insull suffered from a heart ailment, and his wife had asked him not to take the Métro because it was bad for his heart. Nevertheless, Mr. Insull had made frequent declarations that he was "now a poor man" and descended a long flight of stairs at the Place de la Concorde station and died of a heart attack just as he stepped toward the ticket taker. [1]
He is reputed to have died penniless, but he did not. The myth started when his corpse was looted by a Parisian for his wallet.
Insull was buried on July 23, 1938 in Putney Vale Cemetery, London, the city of his birth.
While her husband was alive, Mrs. Gladys Insull had vowed never to return to Chicago and the society that had shunned her. She eventually became homesick for her family and returned to stay in Chicago with her son Sam Insull Jr. She died on September 23, 1953.
External links
TIME magazine cover photo of Samuel Insull, November 29, 1926
TIME magazine cover photo of Samuel Insull, November 4, 1929
TIME magazine cover photo of Samuel Insull, May 14, 1934
PBS: Photo of Samuel Insull with Thomas Edison
Encyclopedia Britannica Concise: Photo of Samuel Insull
Chicago Rapid Transit Company
Chicago Rapid Transit Company
The Chicago Rapid Transit Company (CRT) was a privately owned firm providing rapid transit rail service in Chicago, Illinois and several adjacent communities between the years 1924 and 1947. The CRT is one of the predecessors of the Chicago Transit Authority, Chicago's present mass transit operator.
Leading up to the consolidation of the 'L' companies into the CRT was decades of the Chicago Elevated Railways Collateral Trust (CER), an entity directly attributed to utilities magnate Samuel Insull. CER laid the groundwork for the companies to become one, including financial agreements and simplification that allowed for free transfers between the various lines at the places where they shared facilities, such as at Loop elevated stations. CER also resulted in the through-routing of trains from one company's line to another, enabling riders to take a single train from Ravenswood on the Northwestern 'L' to 35th Street on the South Side 'L'.
The CRT was an amalgamation of several elevated railroad operators, each of which operated service in a particular section of the city. These predecessors include:
The CRT network was entirely at or above grade level until the 1943 opening of the State Street subway, now part of CTA's Red Line.
Following World War II and the continuing financial malaise of the privately owned bus, streetcar and elevated/subway operators, both the city government of Chicago and the Illinois legislature favored consolidating the three separate systems into a single, public-owned authority. The assets and operations of the CRT were assumed by the newly-established Chicago Transit Authority on October 1, 1947.
The Chicago Rapid Transit Company (CRT) was a privately owned firm providing rapid transit rail service in Chicago, Illinois and several adjacent communities between the years 1924 and 1947. The CRT is one of the predecessors of the Chicago Transit Authority, Chicago's present mass transit operator.
Leading up to the consolidation of the 'L' companies into the CRT was decades of the Chicago Elevated Railways Collateral Trust (CER), an entity directly attributed to utilities magnate Samuel Insull. CER laid the groundwork for the companies to become one, including financial agreements and simplification that allowed for free transfers between the various lines at the places where they shared facilities, such as at Loop elevated stations. CER also resulted in the through-routing of trains from one company's line to another, enabling riders to take a single train from Ravenswood on the Northwestern 'L' to 35th Street on the South Side 'L'.
The CRT was an amalgamation of several elevated railroad operators, each of which operated service in a particular section of the city. These predecessors include:
- Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Co. (providing service starting in 1892),
- Lake Street Elevated Railroad Co. (providing service starting in 1893),
- Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad Co. (providing service starting in 1895),
- Northwestern Elevated Railroad Co. (providing service starting in 1900).
The CRT network was entirely at or above grade level until the 1943 opening of the State Street subway, now part of CTA's Red Line.
Following World War II and the continuing financial malaise of the privately owned bus, streetcar and elevated/subway operators, both the city government of Chicago and the Illinois legislature favored consolidating the three separate systems into a single, public-owned authority. The assets and operations of the CRT were assumed by the newly-established Chicago Transit Authority on October 1, 1947.
Chicago Transit Authority
Chicago Transit Authority
Chicago Transit Authority, also known as CTA, is the operator of mass transit within the City of Chicago, Illinois. It is the second largest transit system in the United States. The Chicago Transit Authority offers bus and rapid transit routes throughout the city, as well as to some suburban destinations.
The CTA is a municipal corporation that started operations on October 1, 1947 upon the purchase and combination of the transportation assets of the Chicago Rapid Transit Company and the Chicago Surface Lines streetcar system. In 1952, CTA purchased the assets of the Chicago Motor Coach Company, which was under the control of Yellow Cab founder John D. Hertz, resulting in a fully unified system. Today, the CTA is one of the three service boards financially supported by the Regional Transportation Authority.
About the Chicago Transit Authority
The Chicago Transit Authority covers Chicago city limits and forty surrounding suburbs. The CTA provided a total of 494.8 million rides in 2006, 2.4 million more rides, a 0.5 percent increase, over 2005 numbers. Gains were especially evident on the CTA’s rail system, which recorded its highest ridership since 1993. CTA has now achieved ridership increases in seven of the past eight years.[1]
CTA operates 24 hours each day and on an average weekday, 1.6 million passengers access its buses and trains. It has approximately 2,000 buses that operate over 154 routes traveling along 2,273 route miles. Buses provide about one million passenger trips a day and serve more than 12,000 posted bus stops. The Chicago Transit Authority's 1,190 train cars operate over eight routes and 222 miles of track. Its trains provide about 650,000 customer trips each day and serve 144 stations in Chicago. The Chicago Transit Authority employs more than 11,000 people to operate the entire system. The system is the second largest in the US. Only the vast New York City Transit is more extensive.
Fare collection
The CTA allows riders to board a bus or train and pay with cash, transit cards, or Chicago Cards.
Paying with cash
Only buses allow riders to pay with cash. The fare is $2.00, and cash transfers are not available. Previously, some rail station turnstiles accepted cash but this feature has been removed in an effort to speed up boarding, except during sporting events at nearby 'L' stations, such as the Red Line 'L' station at Addison and the station for the same line at Sox-35th.
Paying with transit cards
Transit cards are sold at all rail stations and at the CTA's headquarters. There are two types of transit cards: stored-value and unlimited rides. Unlimited ride cards can be purchased at the CTA headquarters and from vending machines at select CTA Stations (O'Hare on the Blue Line, Midway on the Orange Line, and Chicago on the Red Line), as well as from a variety of retail outlets throughout the Chicago area, such as currency exchanges and select Jewel and Dominick's stores. They are available for one day ($5), two days ($9), three days ($12), five days ($18), seven days ($20), and thirty days ($75). There are also reduced fare cards available for senior citizens, people with disabilities, Chicago Public School students, Evanston Public School students, and students of certain area universities as well. Fare card and transit card vending machines were installed at downtown Metra train stations (Union Station, the Ogilvie Transportation Center, and the LaSalle Street Station) in early 2006.
Paying with Chicago Cards
The Chicago Card (along with the Chicago Card Plus) is a contactless smart card, powered by RFID, used by riders of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) to electronically pay for bus and train fares. Fares paid with the Chicago Card are less expensive than they are for other riders; $1.75 for a one-way fare on buses and trains, and $0.25 for transfer to up to two other rides within two hours of initial fare. Additionally, riders using this type of card are given a $2 bonus for each $20 they put on it.
Bicycles on the CTA
Bicycles are permitted on CTA buses during all operating hours, and on CTA trains every weekday except from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. (0700-0900) and 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. (1600-1800) On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, bicycles are allowed on trains all day. If you board the train with your bicycle before the hours listed above and your trip extends into those hours, the CTA allows you to finish your trip. If trains are crowded, the use of trains by cyclists may be restricted by the rail operator as appropriate. Bicycles are not permitted on trains July 3 due to Independence Day celebrations. Folding bikes may be brought aboard CTA trains and buses during all operating periods, including rush hour.
A maximum of two bicycles are allowed per train car; if the train consist is four cars in length, a total of eight bicycles are allowed on that train. However, this rule is not enforced widely throughout the system.
Transit operators have the discretion to deny access to anyone with a bike if they decide that conditions are too crowded. The CTA's entire bus fleet is now equipped with bike racks in front which can accommodate two bicycles. All CTA trains accept bicycles, although bikes are discouraged on rail cars with "blinker doors". Only standard-size bicycles are allowed on all CTA vehicles; tandems are not allowed.
Helpful tips and the full guide to transporting bicycles on CTA trains can be found at http://www.transitchicago.com/welcome/biketran.txt.
Equipment history and folklore
CTA buses were known as the "green limousine" or the "big green" — buses were one or more shades of green from the CTA's establishment through the end of the 1980s. With the delivery of the TMC RTS buses in 1991, a more patriotic color scheme was adopted, and the green scheme was fully phased out by 1996. A notable color scheme was the "Bicentennial" of about 1974 to 1976.[2]
CTA bought very few buses between the mid-1970s and the end of the 1980s. During this time, purchases were only made in 1979 (20 MAN/AM General articulated buses), 1982-83 (200 Flyer D901 buses and 125 additional MAN articulateds), and 1985 (362 MAN Americana standard length buses). Another aspect of this period was that with the exception of the 1979 and 1983 MAN orders, none of those buses had air conditioning, a budget saving move by the CTA. The 1972-76 fleet of New Looks, 1870 total, which were originally air conditioned (although there were problems with the air-conditioning systems, resulting in their eventually being disabled and sliding windows installed in the buses), comprised the majority vehicles in service into the early 1990s.
The heavy rail orders of the CTA include the last railroad stock built by the Budd Company and one of the few examples of rail cars built by Boeing-Vertol. The next order is from Bombardier.
Bus garages
103rd Garage (103rd/Stony Island)
74th Garage (74th/Wood)
77th Garage (79th/Wentworth)
Archer Garage (Archer/Pershing)
Chicago Garage (Erie/Pulaski)
Forest Glen Garage (Elston/Bryn Mawr)
Kedzie Garage (Van Buren/Kedzie)
North Park Garage (Foster/Albany)
Revenue
The CTA generates revenue from farebox collections and also receives supplemental funding for operating expenses from the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA). In 2006, CTA generated 53% of its operating budget internally, mostly from fares but also from advertising, parking, and other services; it received $524 million from the RTA, $479.5 million of which stemmed from sales tax receipts collected in the Chicago region.
Funding crisis
The CTA faced the elimination of 82 bus routes out of the present 154 due to a funding crisis. There was a shortfall of $226 million in the 2007 budget which the RTA and CTA had hoped would be addressed by the Illinois General Assembly.[3] A proposal last summer to increase the RTA's sale tax rate failed in the General Assembly last summer, while the state Senate is considering another compromise bill which would also address roads, schools and other infrastructure. Without help from the state, the CTA would have been compelled under the present budget plan to eliminate 82 bus routes in early January 2008, 2,420 employees of the CTA would be laid off, 22% of the workforce. [4] However, on November 2, 2007, two days before the first of the cuts were to be effected, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich in cooperation with the General Assembly and the federal government presented the RTA with a grant for $27 million which would be sufficient to allow the full CTA and RTA systems to operate until the end of 2007. [5] However the CTA decided on November 7 to cut 81 routes (all but one initially proposed for cutting) and lay off 2,400 employees as previously proposed on January 20 2008 if no new funding plan is implemented. [6] Governor Blagojevich has proposed a plan to use funds from a proposed casino in the city. To add fuel to the fire, the head of the local Amalgamated Transit Union, Rick Harris, said that if the situation is not resolved by the end of 2007, then the union will strike [7]
See also
Chicago 'L'
List of Chicago Transit Authority bus routes
List of Chicago Elevated stations
Mass transit in Chicago
Transit fares
External links
Chicago Transit Authority - official site, including a trip planner, and system maps.
Metropolitan Transit Authority Act from the Illinois General Assembly site - provides the legal framework for the CTA.
Keep Chicagoland Moving - official CTA site to encourage support for mass transit funding.
SaveChicagolandTransit.com - An independent view on the Chicago area transit funding crisis. Offers users the ability to contact legislators.
Ask Carole - the blog of CTA Chairman Carole Brown.
Chicago-L.org - the Internet's largest resource for information on Chicago's rapid transit system.
ChicagoBus.org - a site covering CTA bus operations.
Bill Vandervoort's Chicago Transit and Railfan CTA page - unofficial enthusiast's site.
Yahoo! Groups CHICAGOTRANSIT - a Chicago Transit mailing list discussing CTA and its sister agencies.
Campaign for Better Transit - Site of a former coalition of Chicago public transit riders and community groups.
Chicago Transit Authority, also known as CTA, is the operator of mass transit within the City of Chicago, Illinois. It is the second largest transit system in the United States. The Chicago Transit Authority offers bus and rapid transit routes throughout the city, as well as to some suburban destinations.
The CTA is a municipal corporation that started operations on October 1, 1947 upon the purchase and combination of the transportation assets of the Chicago Rapid Transit Company and the Chicago Surface Lines streetcar system. In 1952, CTA purchased the assets of the Chicago Motor Coach Company, which was under the control of Yellow Cab founder John D. Hertz, resulting in a fully unified system. Today, the CTA is one of the three service boards financially supported by the Regional Transportation Authority.
About the Chicago Transit Authority
The Chicago Transit Authority covers Chicago city limits and forty surrounding suburbs. The CTA provided a total of 494.8 million rides in 2006, 2.4 million more rides, a 0.5 percent increase, over 2005 numbers. Gains were especially evident on the CTA’s rail system, which recorded its highest ridership since 1993. CTA has now achieved ridership increases in seven of the past eight years.[1]
CTA operates 24 hours each day and on an average weekday, 1.6 million passengers access its buses and trains. It has approximately 2,000 buses that operate over 154 routes traveling along 2,273 route miles. Buses provide about one million passenger trips a day and serve more than 12,000 posted bus stops. The Chicago Transit Authority's 1,190 train cars operate over eight routes and 222 miles of track. Its trains provide about 650,000 customer trips each day and serve 144 stations in Chicago. The Chicago Transit Authority employs more than 11,000 people to operate the entire system. The system is the second largest in the US. Only the vast New York City Transit is more extensive.
Fare collection
The CTA allows riders to board a bus or train and pay with cash, transit cards, or Chicago Cards.
Paying with cash
Only buses allow riders to pay with cash. The fare is $2.00, and cash transfers are not available. Previously, some rail station turnstiles accepted cash but this feature has been removed in an effort to speed up boarding, except during sporting events at nearby 'L' stations, such as the Red Line 'L' station at Addison and the station for the same line at Sox-35th.
Paying with transit cards
Transit cards are sold at all rail stations and at the CTA's headquarters. There are two types of transit cards: stored-value and unlimited rides. Unlimited ride cards can be purchased at the CTA headquarters and from vending machines at select CTA Stations (O'Hare on the Blue Line, Midway on the Orange Line, and Chicago on the Red Line), as well as from a variety of retail outlets throughout the Chicago area, such as currency exchanges and select Jewel and Dominick's stores. They are available for one day ($5), two days ($9), three days ($12), five days ($18), seven days ($20), and thirty days ($75). There are also reduced fare cards available for senior citizens, people with disabilities, Chicago Public School students, Evanston Public School students, and students of certain area universities as well. Fare card and transit card vending machines were installed at downtown Metra train stations (Union Station, the Ogilvie Transportation Center, and the LaSalle Street Station) in early 2006.
Paying with Chicago Cards
The Chicago Card (along with the Chicago Card Plus) is a contactless smart card, powered by RFID, used by riders of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) to electronically pay for bus and train fares. Fares paid with the Chicago Card are less expensive than they are for other riders; $1.75 for a one-way fare on buses and trains, and $0.25 for transfer to up to two other rides within two hours of initial fare. Additionally, riders using this type of card are given a $2 bonus for each $20 they put on it.
Bicycles on the CTA
Bicycles are permitted on CTA buses during all operating hours, and on CTA trains every weekday except from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. (0700-0900) and 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. (1600-1800) On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, bicycles are allowed on trains all day. If you board the train with your bicycle before the hours listed above and your trip extends into those hours, the CTA allows you to finish your trip. If trains are crowded, the use of trains by cyclists may be restricted by the rail operator as appropriate. Bicycles are not permitted on trains July 3 due to Independence Day celebrations. Folding bikes may be brought aboard CTA trains and buses during all operating periods, including rush hour.
A maximum of two bicycles are allowed per train car; if the train consist is four cars in length, a total of eight bicycles are allowed on that train. However, this rule is not enforced widely throughout the system.
Transit operators have the discretion to deny access to anyone with a bike if they decide that conditions are too crowded. The CTA's entire bus fleet is now equipped with bike racks in front which can accommodate two bicycles. All CTA trains accept bicycles, although bikes are discouraged on rail cars with "blinker doors". Only standard-size bicycles are allowed on all CTA vehicles; tandems are not allowed.
Helpful tips and the full guide to transporting bicycles on CTA trains can be found at http://www.transitchicago.com/welcome/biketran.txt.
Equipment history and folklore
CTA buses were known as the "green limousine" or the "big green" — buses were one or more shades of green from the CTA's establishment through the end of the 1980s. With the delivery of the TMC RTS buses in 1991, a more patriotic color scheme was adopted, and the green scheme was fully phased out by 1996. A notable color scheme was the "Bicentennial" of about 1974 to 1976.[2]
CTA bought very few buses between the mid-1970s and the end of the 1980s. During this time, purchases were only made in 1979 (20 MAN/AM General articulated buses), 1982-83 (200 Flyer D901 buses and 125 additional MAN articulateds), and 1985 (362 MAN Americana standard length buses). Another aspect of this period was that with the exception of the 1979 and 1983 MAN orders, none of those buses had air conditioning, a budget saving move by the CTA. The 1972-76 fleet of New Looks, 1870 total, which were originally air conditioned (although there were problems with the air-conditioning systems, resulting in their eventually being disabled and sliding windows installed in the buses), comprised the majority vehicles in service into the early 1990s.
The heavy rail orders of the CTA include the last railroad stock built by the Budd Company and one of the few examples of rail cars built by Boeing-Vertol. The next order is from Bombardier.
Bus garages
103rd Garage (103rd/Stony Island)
74th Garage (74th/Wood)
77th Garage (79th/Wentworth)
Archer Garage (Archer/Pershing)
Chicago Garage (Erie/Pulaski)
Forest Glen Garage (Elston/Bryn Mawr)
Kedzie Garage (Van Buren/Kedzie)
North Park Garage (Foster/Albany)
Revenue
The CTA generates revenue from farebox collections and also receives supplemental funding for operating expenses from the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA). In 2006, CTA generated 53% of its operating budget internally, mostly from fares but also from advertising, parking, and other services; it received $524 million from the RTA, $479.5 million of which stemmed from sales tax receipts collected in the Chicago region.
Funding crisis
The CTA faced the elimination of 82 bus routes out of the present 154 due to a funding crisis. There was a shortfall of $226 million in the 2007 budget which the RTA and CTA had hoped would be addressed by the Illinois General Assembly.[3] A proposal last summer to increase the RTA's sale tax rate failed in the General Assembly last summer, while the state Senate is considering another compromise bill which would also address roads, schools and other infrastructure. Without help from the state, the CTA would have been compelled under the present budget plan to eliminate 82 bus routes in early January 2008, 2,420 employees of the CTA would be laid off, 22% of the workforce. [4] However, on November 2, 2007, two days before the first of the cuts were to be effected, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich in cooperation with the General Assembly and the federal government presented the RTA with a grant for $27 million which would be sufficient to allow the full CTA and RTA systems to operate until the end of 2007. [5] However the CTA decided on November 7 to cut 81 routes (all but one initially proposed for cutting) and lay off 2,400 employees as previously proposed on January 20 2008 if no new funding plan is implemented. [6] Governor Blagojevich has proposed a plan to use funds from a proposed casino in the city. To add fuel to the fire, the head of the local Amalgamated Transit Union, Rick Harris, said that if the situation is not resolved by the end of 2007, then the union will strike [7]
See also
Chicago 'L'
List of Chicago Transit Authority bus routes
List of Chicago Elevated stations
Mass transit in Chicago
Transit fares
External links
Chicago Transit Authority - official site, including a trip planner, and system maps.
Metropolitan Transit Authority Act from the Illinois General Assembly site - provides the legal framework for the CTA.
Keep Chicagoland Moving - official CTA site to encourage support for mass transit funding.
SaveChicagolandTransit.com - An independent view on the Chicago area transit funding crisis. Offers users the ability to contact legislators.
Ask Carole - the blog of CTA Chairman Carole Brown.
Chicago-L.org - the Internet's largest resource for information on Chicago's rapid transit system.
ChicagoBus.org - a site covering CTA bus operations.
Bill Vandervoort's Chicago Transit and Railfan CTA page - unofficial enthusiast's site.
Yahoo! Groups CHICAGOTRANSIT - a Chicago Transit mailing list discussing CTA and its sister agencies.
Campaign for Better Transit - Site of a former coalition of Chicago public transit riders and community groups.
Purple Line Express
Purple Line Express
The Purple Line of the Chicago Transit Authority is a 3.9 mile branch line on the northernmost section of the Chicago 'L' rapid transit network. Normally, it extends south from the Wilmette terminal at Linden Avenue, passing through Evanston to Howard Street, on Chicago's northern city limits.
The Purple Line operates weekdays 4 a.m. to 1 a.m., Saturdays 5 a.m. to 2 a.m., and Sundays 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. During weekday rush hours (approximately 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.), the Purple Line extends another 10.3 miles south from Howard Street to downtown Chicago running express from Howard Street to Belmont Avenue, and then making all local stops to the Loop. The express service is known as the Purple Line Express, while the Linden-Howard shuttle service is the Purple Line Shuttle.[1]
Prior to the color-coding of CTA rail lines in 1993, the Purple Line was known as the Evanston Line, Evanston Service, or Evanston Shuttle, while the Purple Line Express was called the Evanston Express. Many Chicagoans still refer to the Purple Line by these names.[2]
The Purple Line is useful for reaching Northwestern University (Davis, Foster, and Noyes stops in Evanston) and the Bahá'í House of Worship (Linden stop). The selection of purple as the line's color was likely no accident, as one of Northwestern's official school colors is purple.
Operation
Beginning at the Linden Avenue terminal in Wilmette, which contains a small storage yard and car service shop, the Purple Line traverses the North Shore area on private right-of-way which begins at street grade. Running southeasterly from Wilmette, the line rises past Isabella Street on the Wilmette-Evanston border then bridges the North Shore Channel immediately north of Central Street, the first stop in Evanston. The line, now on an elevated embankment, curves southward parallel to Sherman Street. Continuing south, the line enters downtown Evanston and stops at Davis, then curves southeasterly again to parallel Chicago Avenue and Metra's Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way to Clark Street just north of the CTA's Howard Yard facilities.
Here the line crosses through the yard area before the junction with the Red Line and the Yellow Line. The tracks are split on grade separated structures to allow Yellow Line trains to enter the junction from the west. Immediately south of the yard lies the Howard Street terminal, where Red, Purple, and Yellow Line trains all terminate.
There are four operational tracks starting at the Howard station, continuing on to the Armitage station. During weekday rush hours, the Purple Line runs express on the outermost tracks, skipping all stops until Belmont. From Belmont to Merchandise Mart, the Purple Line and Brown Line share the inside tracks and both make all stops along the route. The reason the trains share two tracks on a four-track line is that the exterior tracks have deteriorated so much that they are no longer functional, abandoned and no longer necessary once the North Shore Line ceased operations in 1963.[3]
The original routing of the Purple Line Express was clockwise around the Inner Loop track via Lake-Wabash-Van Buren-Wells, making all Loop stops before returning to Merchandise Mart and making all stops in reverse northbound. Beginning April 2, 2007, the Purple Line Express was rerouted onto the Outer Loop along with the Brown Line due to construction at Belmont and Fullerton stations (see below).[4] Purple Line Express trains would occasionally diverted to the Outer Loop in the event of emergencies or signal problems in the Loop.
If a problem occurs between the Loop and the Fullerton station, the Purple Line is generally routed into the subway, following the Red Line to the Roosevelt station before returning north.[5]
For several years, southbound afternoon Purple Line Express trains stopped at the Addison Red
Line station before weekday evening Chicago Cubs baseball games, in order to provide direct service to Wrigley Field for passengers from northern Chicago, Evanston, and Skokie. However, trains had to cross over to the inner Red Line tracks, as there is no platform access to the outer tracks at Addison.[6] As a result of the Brown Line construction and in effort to minimize delays, trains now stop one station north at Sheridan before evening Cubs games. The station was constructed with two island platforms that can access the express tracks, eliminating the need for trains to switch over. Additionally, both northbound and southbound evening rush trains now stop at the station.[7]
In its rush hour trip, the Purple Line Express is one of only two 'L' lines to feature transfers to every other line, the other being the Red Line.
Operating fleet
Currently, the Purple Line is almost entirely equipped with 2400-series railcars.[8] In spring 2007, small numbers of 3200-series cars were transferred to the line[9], replacing 2600-series cars transferred to other assignments. The Purple Line Shuttle usually runs four cars while the Purple Line Express runs six cars, although lengths of trains on the shuttle service can vary due to special circumstances and events.
History
The Evanston Line was placed in operation on May 16, 1908 between Central Street, Evanston and the Loop when the former Northwestern Elevated Railroad Company extended its mainline service over leased electrified steam railroad trackage owned by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad.[10] On April 2, 1912, the line reached its present-day terminal at Linden Avenue, Wilmette. The new terminal was established without permission of Wilmette residents, who feared rail service would encourage construction of large apartment buildings in the affluent community.[11]
In 1922, the surface level section of the North Side 'L' was elevated onto a concrete embankment structure between Leland Avenue and Howard Street, and was expanded from two to four tracks, thus allowing complete express service from Wilmette and Evanston to downtown Chicago. Several segments of the Evanston Branch itself ran at street level until 1928, when it was elevated onto a concrete embankment between Church Street and the North Shore Channel. It was placed in operation on January 29, 1928.[12] Nine stations existed after Howard, including a station at Calvary. That station was closed in 1931 and replaced by a new station at South Boulevard to the north.[13]
The current service which was to become the Purple Line went into effect on July 31, 1949, after a massive service re-orientation on the North-South rapid transit system by the still infant Chicago Transit Authority. Local service was restricted between Linden Avenue and Howard Street, operating at all times. The express service ran weekday rush hours only, stopping at all Evanston stations, Howard, Morse (formerly Rogers Park), Loyola, Wilson, Chicago, Merchandise Mart, and then all Loop stations. While skip-stop service was also introduced at this time, Evanston trains continued to make all stops at their respective stations.[14] An express surcharge was also instituted for customers traveling to and from the Loop past Howard. Several attempts were made to reduce or eliminate the fare, backed by local politicians.[15]
Right-of-way and trackage used by the Evanston Branch and the North-South Route (today's Red Line) between Leland Avenue and the Wilmette terminal was purchased by the CTA in 1953 from the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad.[16] In turn, the railroad received $7 million USD in CTA revenue bonds.[17]
Midday and Saturday Loop Express service was discontinued in the 1950s and the local shuttle service began using one-man operations with single unit cars in the 1960s.
On July 16, 1973, the Isabella station was closed, bringing the total number of stations on the Evanston branch to eight.[18]
On November 8, 1973, the third rail system was installed on the Evanston Branch between South Boulevard in Evanston and the Wilmette terminal. Prior to this, Evanston shuttle trains had to be equipped with trolley poles and power collected through overhead catenary wires (similar to the Yellow Line before its conversion to third rail in 2004). The conversion to third rail allowed the CTA to retire the 4000-series railcars, which were nearly fifty years old, and put newer cars on the line. Since parts of the line are at grade level, some community members initially resisted the conversion and worried the proximity of the rail would be hazardous.[19]
By the end of 1976, the additional stops after Howard were eliminated, and the Evanston
Express ran nonstop between Howard and Merchandise Mart. The CTA cited complaints about delays in service due to the extra stops as justification for their removal.[20]
However, on January 20, 1989, express trains once more began making additional stops outside the Loop, at the Belmont, Fullerton, and Chicago stations, partly in order to relieve overcrowding on the rapidly-growing Ravenswood (later Brown) Line. By the end of the 1990s, trains would make all stops between Belmont and the Loop.[21]
The express surcharge was eventually dropped in 1997 as an incentive for customers to use the new TransitCard system.[22]
The overnight "owl service" was eliminated during a service purge by the CTA on April 26, 1998.[23] However, the hours of express operation were expanded on December 16, 2001 for a 180-day trial period. Trains departed Linden for downtown one hour earlier in the morning rush and one hour later in the evening rush.[24] The expanded hours were later made permanent and in 2004 afternoon rush service was also revised to begin twenty-five minutes earlier.[25]
In 2005, the CTA embarked on a project to replace six deteriorating viaducts on the Evanston branch of the Purple Line. The poor condition of the century-old viaducts forced the implementation of permanent slow zones and were a point of contention for many Evanston politicians. They claimed CTA had secured funds and promised to begin replacing the viaducts starting in 1999, but had diverted the funds to other projects. The CTA responded that it only provided projected uses and had not committed the money to any specific purpose.[26] The Main Street viaduct was completely replaced over the weekend of November 12-13, 2005, requiring the temporary shutdown of the Purple Line. Construction was completed by the Monday morning rush hour.[27] The Church Street viaduct was replaced next; preliminary work at that location began in July 2006[28] and the new viaduct was installed in late October 2006 during another weekend closure of the Purple Line.[29]
Future
The Purple Line's Howard terminal began a major renovation in 2006. The station will be completely replaced and made ADA-accessible by 2009.[30] Major work on the station progressed throughout 2007, causing temporary platform boarding changes, typically on the weekends.[31]
The CTA has also embarked on a $530 million USD project to rehabilitate and replace stations and infrastructure along the Brown Line. Seven stations included in the project are shared with the Purple Line, along with the associated trackage[32] and signals[33] from north of the Belmont station to the Loop. Beginning April 2, 2007, operation on the Purple, Brown, and Red Lines between Addison and Armitage was restricted to three tracks, down from the previous four, due to construction at the Fullerton and Belmont stations.[4] Because of this, fewer trains operate to downtown during the rush period in order to prevent a bottleneck. Only every other train is sent to the Loop during rush periods; all other trains operate between Linden and Howard only.[34] In addition, the Purple Line Express routing was changed to the Outer Loop, rather than along the Inner Loop, in order to provide riders more options for accessing stations between Belmont and the Loop. This situation is expected to last through 2009.[4]
One form of the CTA's "Circle Line" plan would call for a rerouting of the Purple Line Express service. Rather than continue to the Loop along with the Brown Line, trains would follow the Red Line after Belmont, making a stop at Fullerton and all current Red Line subway stops and terminate at a new station on Wentworth before heading north. However, this is merely a study and the final form of the Circle Line and its effects on current CTA rail service, if the project begins at all, remain to be seen.[35]
The express service has often been targeted for elimination during service purges due to its "auxiliary" nature compared to other CTA rail lines, the rationalization being that there are readily available, albeit slower, alternatives along its entire route. One of the first moves at halting express service came in 1973[36] while one of the most recent was in 2005, when threatened service cuts included the Purple Line Express.[37]
The CTA budget crisis continued into 2007, and the Purple Line Express was once again selected as one of several routes to be eliminated if additional funding was not provided. The suggested service cuts would have taken effect September 17, 2007.[38] However, the final plan retained the downtown service, making the stop at the Sheridan station permanent to supplement the Red Line and provide additional capacity on the system following the elimination of thirty-nine bus routes. Express operation would be a day-to-day decision; if the Red Line was deemed too crowded, Purple Line Express trains would make all local stops between Howard and Belmont, resuming the regular route at that station.[39] The service cuts were scheduled to be implemented on September 16, 2007[40], but the CTA received a last-minute $24 million advance on its 2008 operating subsidy, postponing the changes until November 4, 2007 unless the Illinois state legislature can agree upon a permanent funding solution.[41]
See also
Chicago 'L'
List of stations on the 'L'
External links
Purple Line at Chicago-'L'.org
Train schedules at CTA official site
The Purple Line of the Chicago Transit Authority is a 3.9 mile branch line on the northernmost section of the Chicago 'L' rapid transit network. Normally, it extends south from the Wilmette terminal at Linden Avenue, passing through Evanston to Howard Street, on Chicago's northern city limits.
The Purple Line operates weekdays 4 a.m. to 1 a.m., Saturdays 5 a.m. to 2 a.m., and Sundays 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. During weekday rush hours (approximately 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.), the Purple Line extends another 10.3 miles south from Howard Street to downtown Chicago running express from Howard Street to Belmont Avenue, and then making all local stops to the Loop. The express service is known as the Purple Line Express, while the Linden-Howard shuttle service is the Purple Line Shuttle.[1]
Prior to the color-coding of CTA rail lines in 1993, the Purple Line was known as the Evanston Line, Evanston Service, or Evanston Shuttle, while the Purple Line Express was called the Evanston Express. Many Chicagoans still refer to the Purple Line by these names.[2]
The Purple Line is useful for reaching Northwestern University (Davis, Foster, and Noyes stops in Evanston) and the Bahá'í House of Worship (Linden stop). The selection of purple as the line's color was likely no accident, as one of Northwestern's official school colors is purple.
Operation
Beginning at the Linden Avenue terminal in Wilmette, which contains a small storage yard and car service shop, the Purple Line traverses the North Shore area on private right-of-way which begins at street grade. Running southeasterly from Wilmette, the line rises past Isabella Street on the Wilmette-Evanston border then bridges the North Shore Channel immediately north of Central Street, the first stop in Evanston. The line, now on an elevated embankment, curves southward parallel to Sherman Street. Continuing south, the line enters downtown Evanston and stops at Davis, then curves southeasterly again to parallel Chicago Avenue and Metra's Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way to Clark Street just north of the CTA's Howard Yard facilities.
Here the line crosses through the yard area before the junction with the Red Line and the Yellow Line. The tracks are split on grade separated structures to allow Yellow Line trains to enter the junction from the west. Immediately south of the yard lies the Howard Street terminal, where Red, Purple, and Yellow Line trains all terminate.
There are four operational tracks starting at the Howard station, continuing on to the Armitage station. During weekday rush hours, the Purple Line runs express on the outermost tracks, skipping all stops until Belmont. From Belmont to Merchandise Mart, the Purple Line and Brown Line share the inside tracks and both make all stops along the route. The reason the trains share two tracks on a four-track line is that the exterior tracks have deteriorated so much that they are no longer functional, abandoned and no longer necessary once the North Shore Line ceased operations in 1963.[3]
The original routing of the Purple Line Express was clockwise around the Inner Loop track via Lake-Wabash-Van Buren-Wells, making all Loop stops before returning to Merchandise Mart and making all stops in reverse northbound. Beginning April 2, 2007, the Purple Line Express was rerouted onto the Outer Loop along with the Brown Line due to construction at Belmont and Fullerton stations (see below).[4] Purple Line Express trains would occasionally diverted to the Outer Loop in the event of emergencies or signal problems in the Loop.
If a problem occurs between the Loop and the Fullerton station, the Purple Line is generally routed into the subway, following the Red Line to the Roosevelt station before returning north.[5]
For several years, southbound afternoon Purple Line Express trains stopped at the Addison Red
Line station before weekday evening Chicago Cubs baseball games, in order to provide direct service to Wrigley Field for passengers from northern Chicago, Evanston, and Skokie. However, trains had to cross over to the inner Red Line tracks, as there is no platform access to the outer tracks at Addison.[6] As a result of the Brown Line construction and in effort to minimize delays, trains now stop one station north at Sheridan before evening Cubs games. The station was constructed with two island platforms that can access the express tracks, eliminating the need for trains to switch over. Additionally, both northbound and southbound evening rush trains now stop at the station.[7]
In its rush hour trip, the Purple Line Express is one of only two 'L' lines to feature transfers to every other line, the other being the Red Line.
Operating fleet
Currently, the Purple Line is almost entirely equipped with 2400-series railcars.[8] In spring 2007, small numbers of 3200-series cars were transferred to the line[9], replacing 2600-series cars transferred to other assignments. The Purple Line Shuttle usually runs four cars while the Purple Line Express runs six cars, although lengths of trains on the shuttle service can vary due to special circumstances and events.
History
The Evanston Line was placed in operation on May 16, 1908 between Central Street, Evanston and the Loop when the former Northwestern Elevated Railroad Company extended its mainline service over leased electrified steam railroad trackage owned by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad.[10] On April 2, 1912, the line reached its present-day terminal at Linden Avenue, Wilmette. The new terminal was established without permission of Wilmette residents, who feared rail service would encourage construction of large apartment buildings in the affluent community.[11]
In 1922, the surface level section of the North Side 'L' was elevated onto a concrete embankment structure between Leland Avenue and Howard Street, and was expanded from two to four tracks, thus allowing complete express service from Wilmette and Evanston to downtown Chicago. Several segments of the Evanston Branch itself ran at street level until 1928, when it was elevated onto a concrete embankment between Church Street and the North Shore Channel. It was placed in operation on January 29, 1928.[12] Nine stations existed after Howard, including a station at Calvary. That station was closed in 1931 and replaced by a new station at South Boulevard to the north.[13]
The current service which was to become the Purple Line went into effect on July 31, 1949, after a massive service re-orientation on the North-South rapid transit system by the still infant Chicago Transit Authority. Local service was restricted between Linden Avenue and Howard Street, operating at all times. The express service ran weekday rush hours only, stopping at all Evanston stations, Howard, Morse (formerly Rogers Park), Loyola, Wilson, Chicago, Merchandise Mart, and then all Loop stations. While skip-stop service was also introduced at this time, Evanston trains continued to make all stops at their respective stations.[14] An express surcharge was also instituted for customers traveling to and from the Loop past Howard. Several attempts were made to reduce or eliminate the fare, backed by local politicians.[15]
Right-of-way and trackage used by the Evanston Branch and the North-South Route (today's Red Line) between Leland Avenue and the Wilmette terminal was purchased by the CTA in 1953 from the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad.[16] In turn, the railroad received $7 million USD in CTA revenue bonds.[17]
Midday and Saturday Loop Express service was discontinued in the 1950s and the local shuttle service began using one-man operations with single unit cars in the 1960s.
On July 16, 1973, the Isabella station was closed, bringing the total number of stations on the Evanston branch to eight.[18]
On November 8, 1973, the third rail system was installed on the Evanston Branch between South Boulevard in Evanston and the Wilmette terminal. Prior to this, Evanston shuttle trains had to be equipped with trolley poles and power collected through overhead catenary wires (similar to the Yellow Line before its conversion to third rail in 2004). The conversion to third rail allowed the CTA to retire the 4000-series railcars, which were nearly fifty years old, and put newer cars on the line. Since parts of the line are at grade level, some community members initially resisted the conversion and worried the proximity of the rail would be hazardous.[19]
By the end of 1976, the additional stops after Howard were eliminated, and the Evanston
Express ran nonstop between Howard and Merchandise Mart. The CTA cited complaints about delays in service due to the extra stops as justification for their removal.[20]
However, on January 20, 1989, express trains once more began making additional stops outside the Loop, at the Belmont, Fullerton, and Chicago stations, partly in order to relieve overcrowding on the rapidly-growing Ravenswood (later Brown) Line. By the end of the 1990s, trains would make all stops between Belmont and the Loop.[21]
The express surcharge was eventually dropped in 1997 as an incentive for customers to use the new TransitCard system.[22]
The overnight "owl service" was eliminated during a service purge by the CTA on April 26, 1998.[23] However, the hours of express operation were expanded on December 16, 2001 for a 180-day trial period. Trains departed Linden for downtown one hour earlier in the morning rush and one hour later in the evening rush.[24] The expanded hours were later made permanent and in 2004 afternoon rush service was also revised to begin twenty-five minutes earlier.[25]
In 2005, the CTA embarked on a project to replace six deteriorating viaducts on the Evanston branch of the Purple Line. The poor condition of the century-old viaducts forced the implementation of permanent slow zones and were a point of contention for many Evanston politicians. They claimed CTA had secured funds and promised to begin replacing the viaducts starting in 1999, but had diverted the funds to other projects. The CTA responded that it only provided projected uses and had not committed the money to any specific purpose.[26] The Main Street viaduct was completely replaced over the weekend of November 12-13, 2005, requiring the temporary shutdown of the Purple Line. Construction was completed by the Monday morning rush hour.[27] The Church Street viaduct was replaced next; preliminary work at that location began in July 2006[28] and the new viaduct was installed in late October 2006 during another weekend closure of the Purple Line.[29]
Future
The Purple Line's Howard terminal began a major renovation in 2006. The station will be completely replaced and made ADA-accessible by 2009.[30] Major work on the station progressed throughout 2007, causing temporary platform boarding changes, typically on the weekends.[31]
The CTA has also embarked on a $530 million USD project to rehabilitate and replace stations and infrastructure along the Brown Line. Seven stations included in the project are shared with the Purple Line, along with the associated trackage[32] and signals[33] from north of the Belmont station to the Loop. Beginning April 2, 2007, operation on the Purple, Brown, and Red Lines between Addison and Armitage was restricted to three tracks, down from the previous four, due to construction at the Fullerton and Belmont stations.[4] Because of this, fewer trains operate to downtown during the rush period in order to prevent a bottleneck. Only every other train is sent to the Loop during rush periods; all other trains operate between Linden and Howard only.[34] In addition, the Purple Line Express routing was changed to the Outer Loop, rather than along the Inner Loop, in order to provide riders more options for accessing stations between Belmont and the Loop. This situation is expected to last through 2009.[4]
One form of the CTA's "Circle Line" plan would call for a rerouting of the Purple Line Express service. Rather than continue to the Loop along with the Brown Line, trains would follow the Red Line after Belmont, making a stop at Fullerton and all current Red Line subway stops and terminate at a new station on Wentworth before heading north. However, this is merely a study and the final form of the Circle Line and its effects on current CTA rail service, if the project begins at all, remain to be seen.[35]
The express service has often been targeted for elimination during service purges due to its "auxiliary" nature compared to other CTA rail lines, the rationalization being that there are readily available, albeit slower, alternatives along its entire route. One of the first moves at halting express service came in 1973[36] while one of the most recent was in 2005, when threatened service cuts included the Purple Line Express.[37]
The CTA budget crisis continued into 2007, and the Purple Line Express was once again selected as one of several routes to be eliminated if additional funding was not provided. The suggested service cuts would have taken effect September 17, 2007.[38] However, the final plan retained the downtown service, making the stop at the Sheridan station permanent to supplement the Red Line and provide additional capacity on the system following the elimination of thirty-nine bus routes. Express operation would be a day-to-day decision; if the Red Line was deemed too crowded, Purple Line Express trains would make all local stops between Howard and Belmont, resuming the regular route at that station.[39] The service cuts were scheduled to be implemented on September 16, 2007[40], but the CTA received a last-minute $24 million advance on its 2008 operating subsidy, postponing the changes until November 4, 2007 unless the Illinois state legislature can agree upon a permanent funding solution.[41]
See also
Chicago 'L'
List of stations on the 'L'
External links
Purple Line at Chicago-'L'.org
Train schedules at CTA official site
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