Brown Line (CTA)

Rapid transit line in Chicago, Illinois

Brown Line

A Brown Line train of 3200 series cars

Overview
Status| Operating
Locale| Chicago, Illinois, United States
Termini|

* Kimball
* The Loop

Stations| 27
Service
Type| Rapid transit
System| Chicago "L"
Operator(s)| Chicago Transit Authority
Depot(s)| Kimball Yard
Rolling stock| Mixed 2600-series and 3200-series
8 car trains (typical, maximum)
Daily ridership| 35,176 (avg. weekday in 2024)[1]
History
Opened| August 1, 1949 (current operation)
Technical
Number of tracks| 2
Character| Elevated and at-grade
Track gauge| 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Minimum radius| 90 feet (27 m)
Electrification| Third rail, 600 V DC
Operating speed| 40 mph (64 km/h)

Route map

Brown Line highlighted in brown

* * *

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Legend

|  Kimball |  |

|  |

|
|
|
|

Kedzie |  |

|  |
Francisco |  |

|  |
|  |

|  |

| Chicago River

North Branch

Rockwell |  |

|  |
Western |  |

|  |

UPN to Kenosha

Damen |  |

|  |  Ravenswood
Montrose |  |

|  |
Irving Park |  |

|  |
Addison |  |

|  |
|  |

|  |

UPN to Ogilvie

Paulina |  |

|  |
Southport |  |

|  |
|  |

|  |

| Purple Express

to Linden

|  |

|  |

Red to Howard

■ Belmont |  |

|  |
Wellington |  |

|  |
Diversey |  |

|  |
■ Fullerton |  |

|  |
Armitage |  |

|  |
|  |

|  |
Sedgwick |  |

|  |
|  |

|  |
Chicago |  |

|  |

| Grand

demolished 1970

|  |
Merchandise Mart |  |

|  |
|  |

|  |

Chicago River

Clark/Lake |  |

|  | State/​Lake

Blue to O'Hare

|  |

|  |

■ Lake

| Randolph/Wells

closed 1995

|  |

| Randolph/​Wabash

demolished 2017

Washington/​Wells |  |

|  |

| Washington/

Wabash

| Madison/Wells

demolished 1994

|  |

| Madison/Wabash

demolished 2015

Quincy |  |

|  | Adams/​Wabash
LaSalle/​Van Buren |  |

|  | Library

Blue to Forest Park

|  |

|  |
|  |

|  |

Red to 95th/​Dan Ryan

|  |  |  |  |  |

Bus connections at all open stations except
Kedzie, Francisco, Rockwell, Southport, and Wellington.

This diagram:

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The Brown Line of the Chicago "L" system, is an 11.4-mile (18.3 km) route with 27 stations between Chicago's Albany Park neighborhood and downtown Chicago. It runs completely above ground and is almost entirely grade-separated. It is the third-busiest 'L' route, with an average of 35,176 passengers boarding each weekday in 2024.[2]

Before CTA lines were color-coded in 1993, the Brown Line was known as the Ravenswood Route; specifically, the series of stations from Belmont to Kimball were called the Ravenswood branch. Accordingly, the Kimball-Belmont shuttle service was called the Ravenswood Shuttle.

## Route

[edit]

A Brown Line train crosses the north branch of the Chicago River.

Between Rockwell and Western stations a ramp carries Brown Line trains from ground-level to elevated tracks.

Northward view from Adams/Wabash station

Brown and Orange line trains contend for the junction at the southeast corner of the Chicago Loop. Photographed from the Adams/​Wabash crossover walkway on the Green, Orange, Brown and Purple lines.

Chicago Transit Authority control 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.

The Brown Line begins on the northwest side of Chicago, at the Kimball terminal in Albany Park, where there is a storage yard and servicing shop for the trains to the east of the passenger station. From there, trains operate over street level tracks between Leland and Eastwood Avenues to Rockwell, then ramp up to the elevated structure for the rest of the trip.

The trains on the street-level section are powered by third rail rather than overhead catenary (the technology used by most other U.S. electric-powered at-grade rail systems), a decision that exposes wayward pedestrians to the risk of electrocution. A fatal accident in 1977 involving an intoxicated man, who did not speak English and was unable to read the posted warning signage, attempted to urinate on the third rail at the Kedzie station eventually resulted in an Illinois Supreme Court decision in 1992 affirming a verdict of $1.5 million against CTA.[3]

After the Damen station, the route turns south, about one-half block parallel and west of Metra's Union Pacific North railroad line and Ravenswood Avenue to a point south of the Addison station. Here the route turns east again and runs parallel to Roscoe Street past Sheffield Avenue where it once again turns south at Clark Junction to join the four-track North Side elevated line in Lakeview. From just north of Belmont station south to Armitage, Brown and Red Line trains operate side by side, with Purple Line Express trains sharing the tracks with the Brown Line during weekday rush hours. Brown and Purple Line trains run on the outermost tracks serving five stops, while Red Line trains run on the innermost tracks making only two stops.

South of the Armitage station, Brown and Purple Line trains continue southward towards the Chicago Loop on elevated tracks which zigzags its way through the neighborhoods of Lincoln Park and Near North Side stopping at Sedgwick and Chicago. Running over Franklin, then Wells Street, a stop is made at the Merchandise Mart before crossing the Chicago River on the upper level of the Wells Street Bridge before joining the Loop Elevated at Lake Street. Operating counter-clockwise, Brown Line trains operate around the Loop on the Outer track via Wells-Van Buren-Wabash-Lake, serving all Loop stations, before the return trip back north to the Kimball terminal.

There are three sections of the Brown Line which includes the Ravenswood Branch that connects from Kimball Avenue station to Belmont Avenue station; merging from the Purple Line Express. Another is the North Side Main Line which connects from Belmont Avenue station to the Merchandise Mart before entering the Loop. The Brown Line enters the loop going counter-clockwise from Washington/​Wells to Clark/Lake and then exits the loop, heading towards the Kimball Avenue station.

## Operating hours and headways

[edit]

The Brown Line operates between Kimball and the Loop weekdays and Saturdays from 4 a.m. to 2:10 a.m. and on Sundays from 5 a.m. to 1:40 a.m.[4] On weekdays, service runs between three and eight minutes during rush hour, seven to eight minutes during midday, then six to twelve minutes during nighttime.

On weekends, early morning service operates every fifteen minutes, then increases to seven to eight minutes on Saturdays during the day and ten minutes on Sundays during the day, then at nighttime every ten to twelve minutes. Late night service operates every fifteen minutes until the end of service.

During morning rush hour, several Brown Line trains bound for the Loop continue toward the Orange Line after stopping at the Harold Washington Library station; whereas several Orange Line trains bound for Kimball continue as the Brown Line after stopping at Adams/Wabash station.[5] While this service does not have an official name, the CTA internally refers to it as the Tiger Line (due to the two colors resembling the stripes of a tiger).[6]

## Rolling stock

[edit]

The Brown Line is operated with the 2600-series and 3200-series railcars. The Brown Line operates using eight cars during weekday rush hours and four cars at other times. In the meantime, CTA has completed the process of overhauling the 3200-series cars with color LED destination signs (similar to the 5000-series cars), new air conditioning systems, rebuilt propulsion systems, passenger door motors, and wheel/axle assemblies. The 3200-series rehabilitation began in 2015 and was completed in 2018. Later that year, some of the Brown Line's 3200-series cars were transferred to the Blue Line, with some of the Orange Line's 2600-series cars being transferred to the Brown Line.

Beginning in March 2008, the Brown Line began running eight cars during rush hours, since all of the reopened or renovated stations have been rebuilt to accommodate eight cars.[7] Prior to this, most stations on the line couldn't berth longer than six cars. Early morning, midday, late evening, and weekend service is generally provided by four cars, although this may be extended to eight cars due to special events and holidays.

## History

[edit]

The Northwestern Elevated Railroad opened the line, originally known as the Ravenswood line, between the existing main line and Western Avenue in Lincoln Square on May 18, 1907.[8] The route was completed to the Kimball terminal on December 14, 1907.[9]

The Kimball terminal was completely renovated and a new bridge over the North Branch of the Chicago River was completed in the 1970s. The Western and Merchandise Mart stations were rebuilt in the 1980s. Prior to the start of the Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project, these two stations, along with the Kimball terminal were the only ADA accessible stations on the Brown Line outside of the Loop.

### Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project

[edit]

The new Rockwell Station opened in August 2006.

The Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project which ran from 2004 to 2009 was undertaken to repair aging infrastructure and increase passenger capacity.[10] Work on the project began in late 2004 with signal upgrades, particularly at Clark Junction.[11] In February 2006, station reconstruction began with right-of-way modernization between Kimball and Rockwell Avenue. Traction power equipment and train control systems were upgraded and a new fiber optic communication network installed.[12]

Brown Line stations were rebuilt or modified meet ADA compliance and to accommodate eight-car trains, increasing from the previous maximum of six-cars. Merchandise Mart was the only station not to receive any work as it had previously been reconstructed from 1987 to 1988, and was already ADA compliant and able to accommodate eight-car trains. Two stations, Kimball and Western, received small platform extensions but little other work, and the other 16 stations were completely rebuilt.[13]

The first two stations to be completed, Kedzie and Rockwell, reopened on August 16, 2006,[14] and all of the stations had reopened by July 30, 2009, when the new Wellington station entered service.[15] The project was completed on December 31, 2009.[16]

### Red-Purple Bypass

[edit]

The Red & Purple Modernization Project includes a redesign of a diamond junction north of Belmont Station into a flyover allowing Brown Line trains going north to circumnavigate crossings with Red and Purple Line trains. The project decreased train backups and increased the number of trains that can cross the junction per hour.[17] The project was criticized by 2015 mayoral candidate Chuy García and local residents in the Lakeview neighborhood who organized a referendum to stop it.[18][19]

The Federal Transit Administration passed the CTA's environmental review on the bypass in January 2016 and received a $1.1 billion federal grant the following year.[20][21] Sixteen properties affected by the bypass were demolished, while the historic Vautravers Building was relocated 30 feet west to preserve it.[22] Construction on the bypass began on October 2, 2019,[23][24][25] and the bypass was opened to its first train at 4 a.m. on November 19, 2021.[26][27]

## Station listing

[edit]

Neighborhood | Station  | Connections

|
|

Albany Park | Kimball |  CTA Bus: 81, 82, 93
Kedzie |
Francisco |
Lincoln Square | Rockwell |
Western |  CTA Bus: 11, 49, 49B, X49
Damen |  Metra: ■ Union Pacific North (at Ravenswood)
CTA Bus: 50
Ravenswood | Closed August 1, 1949; demolished
Lincoln Square/
North Center | Montrose |  CTA Bus: 78
North Center | Irving Park |  CTA Bus: 80
Addison |  CTA Bus: 152
Lake View | Paulina |  CTA Bus: 9
Southport |
Belmont |  CTA 'L' trains: Red Purple
CTA Bus: 22, 77
Wellington |
Lincoln Park | Diversey |  CTA Bus: 76
Wrightwood | Closed August 1, 1949; demolished
Fullerton |  CTA 'L' trains: Red Purple
CTA Bus: 37, 74
Webster | Closed August 1, 1949; demolished
Armitage |  CTA Bus: 73
Willow | Closed May 17, 1942; demolished
Halsted | Closed August 1, 1949; demolished
Near North Side | Larrabee | Closed August 1, 1949; demolished
Sedgwick |  CTA Bus: N9, 37, 72
Schiller | Closed August 1, 1949; demolished
Division | Closed August 1, 1949; demolished
Oak | Closed July 31, 1949; demolished
Chicago |  CTA Bus: 37, 66
Grand | Closed September 20, 1970; demolished
Kinzie | Closed 1921; demolished; replaced by Grand
Merchandise Mart |  CTA 'L' trains: Purple
CTA Bus: 37, 125
The Loop | Randolph/Wells | Closed July 17, 1995; partially demolished and replaced by Washington/Wells
Washington/​Wells
(outer platform) |  CTA 'L' trains: Orange Purple Pink
Metra: ■ Union Pacific North, ■ Union Pacific Northwest, ■ Union Pacific West (at Ogilvie Transportation Center)
CTA Bus: J14, 20, 37, 56, 60, 124, 157
Madison/Wells | Closed January 30, 1994; demolished and replaced by Washington/Wells
Quincy
(outer platform) |  Metra: ■ BNSF, ■ Heritage Corridor, ■ Milwaukee District North, ■ Milwaukee District West, ■ North Central Service, ■ SouthWest Service (at Union Station)
Amtrak long-distance: California Zephyr, Cardinal, City of New Orleans, Empire Builder, Floridian, Lake Shore Limited, Southwest Chief, Texas Eagle (at Union Station)
Amtrak intercity: Blue Water, Borealis, Hiawatha, Illini and Saluki, Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, Lincoln Service, Pere Marquette, Wolverine (at Union Station)
CTA Bus: 1, 7, 28, 37, 126, 130, 151, 156
LaSalle/​Van Buren
(outer platform) |  Metra trains: ■ Rock Island (at LaSalle Street)
CTA Bus: 22, 24, 36, 130
Harold Washington Library
(outer platform) |  CTA 'L' trains: Orange Purple Pink Red (at Jackson), Blue (at Jackson)
CTA Bus: 2, 6, 10, 22, 24, 29, 36, 62, 146, 147
Adams/​Wabash
(outer platform) |  CTA 'L' trains: Orange Green Purple Pink
CTA Bus: 1, 7, 28, 126, 151
Madison/Wabash | Closed March 16, 2015; demolished and replaced by Washington/Wabash.
Washington/​Wabash
(outer platform) |  Metra: ■ Metra Electric (at Millennium Station)
NICTD: South Shore Line (at Millennium Station)
CTA Bus: J14, 20, 56, 60, 124, 147, 151, 157
Randolph/​Wabash | Closed September 3, 2017; demolished and replaced by Washington/Wabash.
State/​Lake
(outer platform) |  CTA 'L' trains: Red (at Lake)
CTA Bus: 2, 6, 10, 29, 36, 62, 146
Clark/Lake
(outer platform) |  CTA 'L' trains: Blue Green Purple Orange Pink
CTA Bus: 22, 24, 134, 135, 136, 156

* Note: After stopping at Clark/Lake, Brown Line trains return to Merchandise Mart, then make all stops back to Kimball.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Annual Ridership Report - Calendar Year 2024" (PDF). Chicago Transit Authority, Ridership Analysis and Reporting. January 22, 2025. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
2. ^ "Annual Ridership Report - Calendar Year 2024" (PDF). Chicago Transit Authority, Ridership Analysis and Reporting. January 22, 2025. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
3. ^ Lee v. Chicago Transit Authority, 152 Ill.2d 432, 605 N.E.2d 493 (1992).
4. ^ "Brown Line Trains schedule" (PDF). Chicago Transit Authority. transitchicago.com. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
5. ^ "Brown Line Trains schedule" (PDF). Chicago Transit Authority. transitchicago.com. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
6. ^ "Riding the Tiger: What's up with those wacky hybrid Orange and Brown 'L' trains?". John Greenfield. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
7. ^ Press Release - Eight Car Service to Begin on Brown Line. transitchicago.com.
8. ^ "New 'L' Line Operated". Chicago Daily Tribune. 19 May 1907.
9. ^ Borzo, Greg (2007). The Chicago "L". Arcadia Publishing. p. 133\. ISBN 978-0-7385-5100-5.
10. ^ Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project. ctabrownline.com
11. ^ Chicago Transit Authority (8 March 2006). "Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project March 8, 2006" (PDF). Retrieved 26 May 2023.
12. ^ "Chicago L.org: Operations - Lines -> Brown Line".
13. ^ "Chicago L.org: Operations - Lines -> Brown Line".
14. ^ Rockwell station, ctabrownline.com
15. ^ "News/Informational articles".
16. ^ "Countdown To A New Brown - The Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project".
17. ^ "Red and Purple Modernization: Rebuilding Vital Infrastructure For Chicago's Future" (PDF). CTA. April 23, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-01-24. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
18. ^ Swartz, Tracy (March 2, 2015). "Chicago mayoral candidates sound off on transit priorities". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
19. ^ Swartz, Tracy (November 6, 2014). "Lakeview residents vote: CTA hasn't 'sufficiently justified' Belmont flyover". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
20. ^ Greenfield, John (January 26, 2016). "The controversial Belmont flyover has federal approval—but still faces other hurdles". Chicago Reader. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
21. ^ Dudek, Mitch (January 9, 2017). "Obama sends CTA $1.1 billion for Red Line improvements". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
22. ^ Yan, Jade. "CTA begins moving historic Lakeview house 30 feet west as part of Brown Line flyover project". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
23. ^ "StackPath".
24. ^ "Work Begins on CTA's $2 Billion Red & Purple Modernization Project". 2 October 2019.
25. ^ "Officials break ground on CTA Red, Purple Modernization Project". 2 October 2019.
26. ^ Runge, Erik (19 November 2021). "CTA Brown Line flyover at Belmont begins service". WGN-TV. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
27. ^ Sarah, Freishtat. "CTA's new Brown Line flyover near Belmont to open to the public". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 19 November 2021.

## External links

[edit]

KML file (edit • help)

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* Brown Line at CTA official site

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Chicago "L"

Lines|

| Current|

* Blue Line
* Brown Line
* Green Line
* Orange Line
* Pink Line
* Purple Line
* Red Line
* Yellow Line

|

Former|

* Howard–Englewood–Jackson Park
* Lake–Dan Ryan
* Loop Shuttle

Branches|

| Current|

* Ashland
* Cermak
* Dan Ryan
* East 63rd
* Evanston
* Forest Park
* Lake Street
* Loop
* Midway
* Milwaukee–Dearborn
* North Side
* O'Hare
* Ravenswood
* Skokie
* South Side
* State Street

|

Former|

* Garfield Park
* Humboldt Park
* Kenwood
* Logan Square
* Metropolitan
* Normal Park
* Randolph Street and Cuyler Avenue
* Stock Yards
* Stub terminals
* Westchester

Stations|

* Current stations
* Former stations

Yards|

* 54th
* 61st/63rd
* 98th
* 120th (proposed)
* Ashland
* Desplaines
* Harlem
* Howard
* Kimball
* Linden
* Midway
* Rosemont
* Skokie Shops

Rolling
stock|

| Current|

* 2600-series
* 3200-series
* 5000-series
* 7000-series
* 9000-series

|

Former|

* 4000-series
* 5000-series
* 6000-series
* 1–50 series
* 2000-series
* 2200-series
* 2400-series

Incidents|

* 1977 Chicago Loop derailment
* 2014 O'Hare station crash
* 2023 Howard station crash
* 2024 Chicago train shooting

Operators|

| Current|

* Chicago Transit Authority

|

Former|

* Chicago Rapid Transit Company
* Lake Street Elevated Railroad
* Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad
* Northwestern Elevated Railroad
* South Side Elevated Railroad

| Interurbans|

* Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad
* Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad

|

Other|

* Chicago Central Area Transit Plan
* CTA Holiday Train
* Mid-City Transitway
* Red Ahead
* Skip-stop on the Chicago "L"

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