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Pink Line (CTA)

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Pink Line
A Pink Line train of 5000-series cars at 18th
Overview
StatusOperational
LocaleChicago and Cicero, Illinois, United States
Termini
Stations22
Service
TypeRapid transit
SystemChicago "L"
Operator(s)Chicago Transit Authority
Depot(s)54th Yard
Rolling stock5000-series
4 car trains (typical); maximum 8 cars
Daily ridership9,544 (avg. weekday 2022)
History
OpenedJune 25, 2006; 18 years ago (2006-06-25)
Technical
Line length11.2 mi (18.0 km)
CharacterElevated and At-Grade Level
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Minimum radius90 feet (27 m)
ElectrificationThird rail600 V DC
Route map
Map Pink Line highlighted in pink
State/Lake
Library
Clark/Lake
Quincy
Clinton
Morgan
Ashland
Polk
18th
Damen
Western
California
Kedzie
Central Park
Pulaski
Kostner
Cicero
Laramie
closed 2003
54th/Cermak

The Pink Line is an 11.2 mi (18.0 km) rapid transit line in Chicago, run by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) as part of the Chicago "L" system. It is the CTA's newest rail line and began operation for a 180-day trial period on June 25, 2006, running between 54th/Cermak station in Cicero, Illinois and the Loop in downtown Chicago. As the line enters downtown Chicago, it begins to share tracks with Green Line trains on Lake Street. This connection is handled by the previously non-revenue Paulina Connector set of tracks. In 2022, over 3 million passengers boarded Pink Line trains.[1]

Operation

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The Pink Line, which was once the Blue Line's Cermak branch, begins at 54th Avenue and Cermak Road in Cicero (5400 W. – 2200 S.). The line runs on at-grade tracks parallel to Cermak Road from the terminal to about a quarter-mile (400 m) east of Cicero Avenue, then runs diagonally northeast until it reaches a corridor parallel and adjacent to 21st Street at Kostner Avenue. It then continues east between 21st Street and Cullerton Street, climbing up from at-grade tracks to elevated tracks, through the North Lawndale, Little Village and Pilsen neighborhoods of Chicago, with stops at Kostner, Pulaski, Central Park, Kedzie, California, Western and Damen.

The line turns north near Paulina Street stopping at 18th and Polk stations, then crosses over the Eisenhower Expressway (Interstate 290). Here, a two track non-revenue branch diverges that descends to the expressway to provide a non-revenue track connection to the Blue Line. It continues on the Paulina Connector to share tracks with the Green Line on Lake Street with stops at Ashland, Morgan and Clinton, before operating around the Loop clockwise.

History

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Northward view from the Adams/Wabash station at night
Chicago Transit Authority signal tower 18 guides elevated Chicago "L" north and southbound Purple and Brown lines intersecting with east and westbound Pink and Green lines and the looping Orange line above the Wells and Lake street intersection in the loop
Pink and Green line elevated tracks crossing Franklin Street in the Loop
The Lake Street Elevated bridge over the Chicago River at night

As the Blue Line Douglas/Cermak branch

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Until 1996, the Cermak branch was known as the Douglas branch, for Douglas Park along its route. Originally, Douglas trains were operated by the Metropolitan West Side Elevated directly into the Loop by means of the Metropolitan's main line. Construction of the Congress Street Superhighway (known now as the Eisenhower Expressway, I-290) in the 1950s required the removal of the Metropolitan's main line, resulting in Douglas trains being routed to the Loop via the Paulina Connector and the Lake Street 'L' similar to the current service.

Upon completion of the new Congress branch in the median of the expressway, all trains of the Douglas branch were operated via the Milwaukee-Dearborn Subway to the city's Northwest Side and to O'Hare . The Douglas branch was re-named the Cermak branch in the mid-1990s. The entire Cermak branch is ADA accessible.

Converting to the Pink Line

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In January 2006, the CTA held hearings on its proposal to reroute trains from 54th/Cermak via the recently rebuilt Paulina Connector to the Lake Street Green Line tracks, then operating around the Loop clockwise for the first time since Douglas trains began using the Milwaukee-Dearborn Subway in downtown Chicago on June 22, 1958. This would allow a doubling of Blue Line trains to Forest Park on the Congress Branch, since service would no longer be divided between the Forest Park and 54th/Cermak terminals. The CTA has also promised that service to/from 54th/Cermak would be increased 100% during weekday rush hours.

At the initial time of proposal, this plan was often referred to as the "Silver Line", as the original idea was to use gray as the line color on printed materials and give it the route name of "Silver".

In February 2006, the CTA approved the separate plan.[2] Non-rush hour trains would be routed via the Loop, Green Line tracks and Paulina Connector. During weekday rush hours, service would be available on this routing as well as the original route via the Dearborn Street subway every half hour. These changes went into effect beginning June 25, 2006, with the trial period scheduled to end 180 days later on December 22, 2006.

In March 2006, the Chicago Transit Authority announced that of the top three colors, Pink, Gold and Silver, Pink had received the most votes in a write-in essay contest for Chicago-area schoolchildren in kindergarten through 8th grade—a $1,000 savings bond was awarded to a selected essay writer who advocated for the color pink.[3]

The Pink Line began operation in June 2006, using the rebuilt Paulina Connector, which had not been used in regular revenue service for 48 years.

The service, which was originally set up as a temporary service to be run for a trial period of 180 days (6 months), doubles service on both the Douglas branch and the Forest Park branch of the Blue Line. This is accomplished by routing all but 12 trains per day coming from O'Hare to Forest Park and adding entirely new service from the 54th/Cermak terminal in Cicero to The Loop via the Paulina Connector and the Lake Street branch of the Green Line. Pink Line trains operate clockwise on the Inner Loop track via Lake-Wabash-Van Buren-Wells before returning to 54th/Cermak.

On December 12, 2006, the CTA board approved a six-month extension to the trial period before making a decision on whether or not to make the changes permanent,[4] and another 180-day extension was added to the trial in June 2007.[5] On December 4, 2008, CTA announced its decision to make the Pink Line permanent.[6]

Operating hours and headways

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The Pink Line operates between 54th/Cermak and the Loop weekdays from 4 a.m. to 2 a.m., and weekends from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m. Trains run on a minimum headway of 20 minutes after midnight, decreasing to 8–9 minutes during weekday rush hours.[7]

Rolling stock

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The Pink Line is operated with the Bombardier-built 5000-series railcars. Trains operate using four cars on weekdays and weekends. Frequently, the Pink and Green Lines borrow each other's cars when either line is short on cars. Since September 2018, two cars sets assigned to the Pink Line make weekday rush hour trips on the Blue Line. At the time of their reintroduction, all Pink Line consists using 5000-series cars were six cars long. As of mid-August 2012, the Pink Line was using the 5000-series cars in four and six car consists.

With the successful testing of the Pink Line 5000-series cars in four car consists during August, the Pink Line reverted to running four cars during most times of the day. Some of the 5000-series cars that had been assigned to the line, were reassigned to the Green Line. The last 2600-series cars were removed from service from the Pink Line in June 2012, making the Pink Line the first line to be fully equipped with the 5000-series cars. Most of the Pink Line's 2600-series cars were reassigned to the Blue Line to replace its 2200-series cars.

Possible route to Kimball

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In 2002, the CTA proposed the creation of the "Circle Line", which would utilize segments of existing rail lines to keep new construction to a minimum, in addition to 6.6 miles (10.6 km) of new subway and elevated segments to the 'L' system to complete the circumferential route. Maps additionally suggested increasing the route length of two lines: Possibly running the Brown Line from its terminus at Kimball, to the Loop, and continuing to the 54th/Cermak terminus via the current Pink Line route from the Loop; and Orange Line service from Kimball, to the Loop, and continuing to Midway Airport via the current Orange Line route. These considerations have been undergoing study and analysis.

Station listing

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Location Station Connections
Cicero 54th/Cermak Disabled access Parking Bus interchange CTA Bus: 21, 54B (Temporarily), N60
Bus interchange Pace Bus: 316, 322
Cicero Disabled access Bus interchange CTA Bus: 21, 54, 54B, N60
Bus interchange Pace Bus: 302, 392
North Lawndale Kostner Disabled access
Pulaski Disabled access Bus interchange CTA Bus: 53, 157
Central Park Disabled access Bus interchange CTA Bus: 82, 157
Kedzie Disabled access Bus interchange CTA Bus: 52
South Lawndale California Disabled access Bus interchange CTA Bus: 94
Lower West Side Western Disabled access Metra Metra:  BNSF (at Western Avenue)
Bus interchange CTA Bus: 49, X49
Damen Disabled access Bus interchange CTA Bus: 50
Bus interchange Pace Bus: 755
18th Disabled access Bus interchange CTA Bus: 18
Near West Side Polk Disabled access Bus interchange CTA Bus: 7, 157
Bus interchange Pace Bus: 755
Ashland Disabled access Metro interchange CTA "L" trains: Green
Bus interchange CTA Bus: 9, X9
Morgan Disabled access
Clinton Disabled access Metro interchange CTA "L" trains: Green
Metra Metra:  Union Pacific North,  Union Pacific Northwest,  Union Pacific West (at Ogilvie Transportation Center)
Bus interchange CTA Bus: J14, 56, 125
The Loop Clark/Lake Disabled access
(inner platform)
Metro interchange CTA "L" trains: Blue Brown Green Purple Orange
Bus interchange CTA Bus: 22, 24, 134, 135, 136, 156
State/Lake
(inner platform)
Metro interchange CTA "L" trains: Red (at Lake)
Bus interchange CTA Bus: 2, 6, 10, 29, 36, 62, 146
Randolph/Wabash Closed September 3, 2017; demolished and replaced by Washington/Wabash
Washington/​Wabash Disabled access
(inner platform)
Metra Metra:  Metra Electric (at Millennium Station)
South Shore Line NICTD: South Shore Line (at Millennium Station)
Bus interchange CTA Bus: J14, 20, 56, 60, 124, 147, 151, 157
Madison/Wabash Closed March 16, 2015; demolished and replaced by Washington/Wabash
Adams/Wabash
(inner platform)
Metro interchange CTA "L" trains: Brown Green Orange Purple
Bus interchange CTA Bus: 1, 7, 28, 126, 151
Harold Washington Library Disabled access
(inner platform)
Metro interchange CTA "L" trains: Brown Orange Purple, Red (at Jackson), Blue (at Jackson)
Bus interchange CTA Bus: 2, 6, 10, 22 Clark, 24, 29, 36, 62, 146, 147
LaSalle/Van Buren
(inner platform)
Metra Metra:  Rock Island (at LaSalle Street Station)
Bus interchange CTA Bus: 22, 24, 36, 130
Quincy Disabled access
(inner platform)
Metra Metra:  BNSF,  Heritage Corridor,  Milwaukee District North,  Milwaukee District West,  North Central Service,  SouthWest Service (at Union Station)
Amtrak Amtrak long-distance: California Zephyr, Capitol Limited, Cardinal, City of New Orleans, Empire Builder, Lake Shore Limited, Southwest Chief, Texas Eagle (at Union Station)
Amtrak Amtrak intercity: Blue Water, Borealis, Hiawatha, Illini and Saluki, Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, Lincoln Service, Pere Marquette, Wolverine (at Union Station)
Bus interchange CTA Bus: 1, 7, 28, 37, 126, 130, 151, 156
Washington/​Wells Disabled access
(inner platform)
Metro interchange CTA "L" trains: Brown Orange Purple
Metra Metra:  Union Pacific North,  Union Pacific Northwest,  Union Pacific West (at Ogilvie Transportation Center)
Bus interchange CTA Bus: J14, 20, 37, 56, 60, 124, 157

After stopping at Washington/Wells, Pink Line trains return to Clinton, then make all stops back to 54th/Cermak.

Rail yard

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The 54th Yard is a CTA rail yard for the Pink Line in Cicero, Illinois. Currently, 5000-series railcars are stored here.[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Annual Ridership Report - Calendar Year 2022" (PDF). Chicago Transit Authority. 2023-03-02. pp. 15–17.
  2. ^ "CTA Board Approves West Side Corridor Service Recommendations".
  3. ^ Chicago Transit Authority. And the color is... Pink Line. Last updated March 30, 2006. Retrieved March 30, 2006.
  4. ^ "CTA to Extend West Side Service Experiment, Adjust #11 Lincoln/Sedgwick and Add #132 Goose Island".
  5. ^ "Agenda - Chicago Transit Board - Regular Meeting, June 13, 2007". Chicago Transit Authority. Archived from the original on 2008-01-24. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
  6. ^ "Chicago Transit Board Approves Permanent Addition of West Side/West Suburban Service Enhancements".
  7. ^ "Pink Line Trains schedule" (PDF). Chicago Transit Authority. transitchicago.com. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  8. ^ "Yards & Shops - 54th Avenue Yard & Shops". Chicago-l.org. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
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