In order to stop its return, police opened the Wells Street bridge and blocked the track with railroad ties, but the officials managed to evade the police by having the train switched on to the Lake Street Elevated Railroad. Police stopped the train and arrested the crew, but company officials took the controls and managed to run the train into the Loop. ĭefiantly, the company ran another train the next day. On January 1, 1900, city officials declared that the railroad was unsafe and that the franchise had expired. In order to meet the franchise requirements, an inaugural train ran north from the Loop on December 31, 1899. New financing was found, and construction began again in July 1899. The project experienced financial difficulties and work was paused later in the year and stopped completely in 1897. Ĭonstruction of the line started in February 1896. The deadline for completion was later extended to May 31, 1899. This franchise was altered in 1895 to allow the line to connect to the new Union Loop. The original franchise stipulated that service between a downtown location to the south of the Chicago River and Wilson Avenue was to begin by December 31, 1897. The Northwestern Elevated Railroad Company was incorporated on October 30, 1893, and on January 8, 1894, it was granted a 50-year franchise by the City of Chicago. The Ravenswood line is now operated as the Brown Line, while the Main Line is used by the Purple and Red Lines. The line ran from the Loop in downtown Chicago north to Wilson Avenue in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood with a branch to Ravenswood and Albany Park that left the main line at Clark Street. Currently, CTA trains do not serve any neighborhood in the more than five miles of Chicago that are located south of 95th Street.The Northwestern Elevated Railroad was the last of the privately constructed rapid transit lines to be built in Chicago. New subway stations would be located at Addison, Irving Park, Wilson, Foster, Bryn Mawr and Glenlake, while the Argyle, Lawrence, Berwyn, Thorndale and Granville stops would vanish.Ī study is also underway for an expansion of the Red Line south to 130th Street. One would eliminate the Lawrence, Thorndale and Jarvis stops on the Red Line, and the South Boulevard and Foster stops on the Purple Line.Īn even more radical plan calls for getting rid of the 'L' structure altogether between the Belmont and Loyola stops, and replacing it with a subway. The CTA is planning to replace the aging concrete embankment on which 'L' trains run between from Wilson Avenue north to the end of the Purple Line, and the agency has come up with six plans for doing so. More ambitious plans and controversial plans for the Red Line remain under discussion. Last year, the entire CTA rail system handled 211 million riders. The Red Line accommodated 79 million riders in 2010. In addition to the work on the Red Line, ties will be replaced on the Purple Line track between the Belmont and Linden stations, eliminating slow zones. When built into its current configuration as the Uptown Station in the 1920s, it was posh, but for decades, it has been a hodge-podge of deteriorating storefronts flanking a station mezzanine that is known for smelling of urine. The ventilation system will be upgraded on the subway portion of the Red Line through downtown Chicago.Īctivists for years have called the Wilson Red Line station everything from dilapidated to dangerous. The plan calls for replacement of the tracks between 18th and 95th streets and provide upgrades to stations between Cermak and 95th Streets.Ĭurrently, almost 35 percent of the Dan Ryan branch is limited to speeds of less than 35 mph, with almost 20 percent of the branch restricted to a top speed of 15 mph.įarther north, the Wilson and Clark/Division stations, along with the surrounding track, will be rebuilt. The project will also replace or repair aging stations, install new power systems to improve performance and upgrade a significant portion of the Purple Line.Ĭonstruction starts in 2012 and will last three years. The Purple Line continues north to Linden Avenue in Wilmette.ĭeteriorated tracks will be rebuilt to eliminate slow zones. The Red Line runs from 95th Street on the South Side to Howard Street on the border with north suburban Evanston.
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