Orange Line (CTA)

Rapid transit line in Chicago, Illinois

Orange Line

An Orange Line train approaching 35th/Archer station

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

* Midway
* The Loop

Stations| 16
Service
Type| Rapid transit
System| Chicago "L"
Operator(s)| Chicago Transit Authority
Depot(s)| Midway Yard
Rolling stock| 2600-series
8 car trains (typical, maximum)
Daily ridership| 20,089 (avg. weekday September 2024)
History
Opened| October 31, 1993; 31 years ago (1993-10-31)
Technical
Line length| 13 mi (21 km)
Character| Elevated and At-Grade Level
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

Route map

Orange Line highlighted in orange

* * *

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Legend

| Brown Purple

Green Pink

|  |

Red to Howard

Clark/Lake |  |

|  | State/Lake

Blue to O'Hare

|  |

|  |

| 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

|  |

|  |
|  |

|  | Roosevelt ■■
|  |

|  |

RI to LaSalle Street

|  |

|  |

| HC SWS

to Union Station

|  |
|  |

|  |

Green | to Ashland/63rd

to Cottage Grove

|  |

|  |

Red to 95th/Dan Ryan

|  |

|  |

RI to Joliet

|  |

|  |

SWS to Manhattan

Halsted Street

|  |

|  | Halsted
|  |

|  |

Bubbly Creek

|  |

|  | Ashland

HC to Joliet

|  |

|  | 35th/Archer
|  |

|  | Western
|  |

|  | Kedzie
|  |

|  | Pulaski
|  |

|  | Midway Yard
|  |

|  | Midway
|  |  |  |  |  |

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The Orange Line is a rapid transit line in Chicago, Illinois, operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) as part of the Chicago "L" system. It is approximately 13 miles (21 km) long and runs on elevated and at grade tracks and serves the Southwest Side, running from the Loop to Midway International Airport. As of 2023, an average of 16,979 riders board Orange Line trains on weekdays.[1]

## Route

[edit]

The Orange Line uses the inner track of the Loop through downtown

The Orange Line begins in an open cut at a station on the east side of Midway International Airport. From here, the line rises to an elevated viaduct at 55th Street and continues northeast towards the city on railroad right-of-way. Near the intersection of 49th Street and Lawndale Avenue, the line turns east along a CSX Transportation right-of-way to a point east of Western Boulevard, then curves north and northwest on embankment structure along CSX right-of-way to Western Boulevard and Pershing Road.

From here, the line rises on elevated structure again and makes a curve to cross Archer Avenue, the CSX tracks and Western Boulevard before descending onto Illinois Central Railroad right-of-way immediately east of Western Boulevard. Entering the IC right-of-way, the line again changes from elevated structure to surface level. The line continues on surface level to Ashland Avenue where it crosses a bridge over Bubbly Creek, a fork of the South Branch of the Chicago River. At this point, the line enters the joint Illinois Central and Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad right-of-way continuing on embankment to Canal Street.

There the line again transitions to the elevated structure to bridge Canal Street, Cermak Road and the Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad tracks then curves east to run along the south side of 18th Street, crossing over the Red Line and the Rock Island District tracks near Wentworth Avenue, before joining the South Side Elevated at a flying junction between 16th and 17th Streets. The ballasted track ends and the timber deck begins here. Orange Line trains share the tracks with the Green Line operating from this junction to Tower 12 at the southeast corner of the Loop. Orange Line trains operate clockwise around the inner loop – via Van Buren Street, Wells Street, Lake Street and Wabash Avenue – before returning to Midway.

Along the Orange Line's main route there are seven stations. An eighth station is located at Roosevelt/Wabash on the South Side Elevated which Orange Line trains share with Green Line trains. A passenger tunnel connects this station with the Roosevelt/State subway station on the Red Line.

A downtown superstation was proposed to provide express service from the Loop to O'Hare and Midway airports, but the project was canceled during the excavation process due to significant cost overruns.[2]

## Operating hours and headways

[edit]

The Orange Line operates between Midway and the Loop weekdays from 3:30 a.m. to 1:25 a.m., Saturdays from 4 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. and Sundays from 4:30 a.m. to 1:25 a.m. On weekdays, headways consists of 10 tph (trains per hour) during rush hour, 8 tph during midday and 5 tph at night. Saturday service consists 5–8 tph during the day, then 3–4 tph during late night hours. Sunday service runs 5 tph during the day, then 3–4 tph at night.

## Rolling stock

[edit]

The Orange Line is operated with 2600-series cars. From November 8, 2012, to October 31, 2014, some 2400-series railcars were assigned to the line. From the opening of the route to October 2018, 3200-series railcars were assigned to the line. Trains operate using eight cars during weekday rush hours and four cars during other times on weekdays and all day on weekends except for special events when eight cars may be required.

Beginning in June 2014, CTA began to transfer some 2600-series cars to the line as an interim replacement for its 2400-series cars. The first batch of the Orange Line's 2600-series cars are reassignments from the Blue Line. The lost capacity on the Blue Line was made up from reassignment of newer 2600-series cars from the Red Line, as they were displaced by the new Bombardier-built 5000-series cars on the Red Line. The second batch of 2600-series cars are reassignments from the Red Line as more 5000-series cars were delivered and assigned to the Red Line, replacing the Orange Line's remaining 2400-series cars until the Red Line was fully equipped with the 5000-series cars. The last 2400-series cars were retired from service in October 2014.

After the Red Line was fully equipped with the 5000-series cars, the CTA planned on replacing the Orange Line's 2600-series cars with the 5000-series cars, leaving only the Blue and Brown Lines as the only lines not to operate the 5000-series cars. However, the assignment of 5000-series cars to the Orange Line is now unlikely, since delivery of all 5000-series cars is complete and are completely assigned to all other lines except for the Blue and Brown Lines, thus the assignment of 2600-series cars to the Orange Line is now a permanent assignment until the delivery of the new 7000-series cars.

Beginning September 2018, CTA began to transfer the Orange Line's 3200-series cars to the Blue Line. As of October 2018, the 3200-series cars no longer operate on the Orange Line.

## History

[edit]

The Orange Line's terminal at Midway International Airport

The Orange Line opened for service on October 31, 1993, and was the first all-new service in Chicago since the Dan Ryan Line opened in September 1969 and the first extension to the CTA system since the extension of the Blue Line to O'Hare International Airport in September 1984. But its planning dates back to the late 1930s when the City of Chicago proposed a high speed subway extension along Wells-Archer-Cicero between the Loop and 63rd Street and Cicero Avenue near Midway (then called Chicago's Municipal Airport). It would be another four decades before Chicago transit planners became serious about providing rapid transit service to this area of the city.

In 1979, the City began the Southwest Transit Project, which proposed extending the CTA 'L' system to the Southwest Side of Chicago over existing railroad rights-of-way and newer elevated connections along the very busy Archer-49th-Cicero Corridor from the Loop to its originally planned terminus at the Ford City Mall. Funding for the project was made possible from Interstate Highway Transfer monies saved after the city decided to cancel the high priced and controversial Crosstown Expressway and Franklin Street subway projects. Federal funding for the project was secured by U.S. Representative William Lipinski as a favor from then-President Ronald Reagan, who wanted to thank Lipinski for his vote to provide aid to the Nicaraguan contras.[3]

In 1987, construction of the $500 million transit line began and continued until fall 1993. When the Midway Line opened, the CTA decided to adopt a color-coded naming system for the rapid transit network (like Boston, Washington, D.C., and Cleveland) and named it the Orange Line.

## Former proposed extension

[edit]

A preserved 1–50 series railcar at the Fox River Trolley Museum displays a "Ford City" destination sign

Printed rollsigns on some CTA rail cars include an entry for "Ford City."[4] The Ford City Mall is about two miles (3 km) south of Midway Airport, and it was originally planned to be the line's terminal. Because there was no funding available, the city decided to end the line at Midway Airport.

The CTA analyzed the cost of an Orange Line extension to Ford City in 2008 and determined that the project would cost approximately $200 million. Community meetings were held in neighborhoods surrounding Midway and Ford City to judge the level of public support for the extension.[5]

The four corridors being studied for the Orange Line extension include alignments along Cicero Avenue, Pulaski Road, and a combination of the Belt Railway and either Cicero or Kostner Avenues. The corridors selected for further study are Cicero Ave (Bus Rapid Transit) and Belt/Cicero or Belt/Kostner (Heavy Rail Transit).[6] In April 2009, the Cicero Avenue/Belt Railway corridor was chosen as the most viable option and advanced in the Alternatives Analysis process.[7] By December 2009, the CTA had identified the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) as the Belt/Cicero route. According to a CTA report,

> The LPA would operate in a trench along the BRC right-of-way between the existing Midway station and approximately 6400 South, where it would begin to transition to an elevated structure above Marquette Road, where it would curve to the southwest over the BRC Clearing Yard and then continue south on elevated structure in the median of Cicero Avenue. The Orange Line extension would end at a new terminal station in the vicinity of Ford City Mall.[8]

The CTA planned to prepare a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and complete preliminary engineering. However, the extension was canceled.[9]

## Station listing

[edit]

Neighborhood | Station  | Connections

|
|

Garfield Ridge/
Clearing | Midway |  CTA Bus: 47, 54B, 55, 55A, 55N, 59, 62H, N62, 63, 63W, 165
Pace Bus: 379, 382, 383, 384, 385, 386, 390
RVMMTD Bus: Midway Commuter
Midway International Airport
Archer Heights/
West Elsdon | Pulaski |  CTA Bus: 53A, 62
Brighton Park/
Gage Park | Kedzie |  CTA Bus: 47, 51, 52, 52A
Brighton Park/
Gage Park/
New City | Western |  CTA Bus: 48, 49, X49, 94
McKinley Park | 35th/Archer |  CTA Bus: 35, 39, 50, 62
Lower West Side/
McKinley Park | Ashland |  CTA Bus: 9, X9, 31, 62
Bridgeport | Halsted |  CTA Bus: 8, 44, 62
The Loop/
Near South Side | Roosevelt |  'L' trains: Green Red
Metra: ■ Metra Electric (at Museum Campus/11th Street)
NICTD: South Shore Line (at Museum Campus/11th Street)
CTA Bus: 12, 18, 29, 62, 130, 146, 192
The Loop | Harold Washington Library
(inner platform) |  'L' trains: Purple Brown Pink Red (at Jackson), Blue (at Jackson)
CTA Bus: 2, 6, 10, 22, 24, 29, 36, 62, 146, 147
LaSalle/Van Buren
(inner platform) |  Metra: ■ Rock Island (at LaSalle Street)
CTA Bus: 22, 24, 36, 130
Quincy
(inner 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
Madison/Wells | Closed January 30, 1994; demolished and replaced by Washington/Wells
Washington/​Wells
(inner platform) |  'L' trains: Brown Purple Pink
Metra: ■ Union Pacific North, ■ Union Pacific Northwest, ■ Union Pacific West (at Ogilvie)
CTA buses: J14, 20, 37, 56, 60, 124, 157
Randolph/Wells | Closed July 17, 1995; partially demolished and replaced by Washington/Wells
Clark/Lake
(inner platform) |  'L' trains: Blue Brown Green Purple Pink
CTA Bus: 22, 24, 134, 135, 136, 156
State/Lake
(inner platform) |  'L' trains: Red (at Lake)
CTA Bus: 2, 6, 10, 29, 36, 62, 146
Randolph/Wabash | Closed September 3, 2017; demolished and replaced by Washington/Wabash
Washington/​Wabash
(inner platform) |  Metra: ■ Metra Electric (at Millennium Station)
NICTD: South Shore Line (at Millennium Station)
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) |  'L' trains: Purple Green Brown Pink
CTA Bus: 1, 7, 28, 126, 151

After stopping at Adams/Wabash, Orange Line trains return to Roosevelt, then make all stops back to Midway.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Annual Ridership Report - Calednar Year 2023" (PDF). Chicago Transit Authority. January 23, 2024. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
2. ^ Hinz, Greg (June 11, 2008). "CTA to halt over-budget superstation". ChicagoBusiness.com. Crain Communications Inc. Retrieved June 11, 2008.
3. ^ "Chicago L.org: Operations - Lines -> Orange Line". www.chicago-l.org. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
4. ^ Hilkevitch, Jon (October 30, 2006). "Signs mark growth of CTA: Agency's history is mapped out in labels". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2014-08-23.
5. ^ "CTA Press Release, August 13, 2008". transitchicago.com. Retrieved 22 April 2018.[permanent dead link‍]
6. ^ CTA. "Corridors and Profiles Evaluated" (PDF). Orange Line Extension Alternatives Analysis Study. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-04-15. Retrieved 2008-12-27.
7. ^ "Orange Line Extension Alternatives Analysis Study" (PDF). April 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-04-15. Retrieved 2009-05-16.
8. ^ http://www.transitchicago.com/assets/1/planning/Orange_Line_Extension_Locally_Preferred_Alternative_Report.pdf Archived 2016-04-15 at the Wayback Machine , p. 60
9. ^ "Orange Line Extension".

## External links

[edit]

KML file (edit • help)

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to CTA Orange Line.

* Orange Line at CTA official site
* Orange Line extension plan

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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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