Western station (CTA Blue Line Forest Park branch)

Chicago "L" station

Not to be confused with Western station (CTA Blue Line O'Hare branch), also on the Blue Line.

Western

2400W
430S

General information
Location| 430 South Western Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60612
Coordinates| 41°52′32″N 87°41′18″W﻿ / ﻿41.875478°N 87.688436°W﻿ / 41.875478; -87.688436
Owned by| Chicago Transit Authority
Line(s)| Forest Park Branch
Platforms| 1 island platform
Tracks| 2
Construction
Structure type| Expressway median
Bicycle facilities| Yes
History
Opened| June 22, 1958; 67 years ago (1958-06-22)
Passengers
2024| 200,073[1]  5.7%
Services
| Preceding station  |  Chicago "L" | Following station

|
|

Kedzie–Homan

toward Forest Park

|  | Blue Line

|  | Illinois Medical District

toward O'Hare

Former services

| Preceding station  |  Chicago "L" | Following station

|
|

California

Closed 1973

toward Des Plaines

|  | Congress branch |  | Medical Center

toward Jefferson Park

as an elevated station (pre-1953)
California

toward Des Plaines

|  | Garfield Park branch |  | Hoyne

toward Marshfield

Track layout

Legend

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Blue to O'Hare

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|  | Western Ave.
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I-290 (Eisenhower Expy.)

|  |

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Blue to Forest Park

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|  |  |  |  |  |

Location

Western is a station on the 'L' system, serving the Blue Line's Forest Park branch. It is located in the median of the Eisenhower Expressway. It serves the Near West Side neighborhood and Crane Tech High School. The station is also located about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the Western Avenue station (BNSF Railway) commuter railroad station.

## History

[edit]

### Elevated station

[edit]

The original Western station opened in 1895 along with numerous stations on the Metropolitan West Side Elevated lines. When skip-stop service was implemented on the Garfield Park branch in 1951, Western station was designated an A station (only A trains would stop at this station).[2] In 1953, the elevated station was closed in favor of temporary tracks running along Van Buren Street. The temporary tracks were built to accommodate the construction of the Congress Expressway and an expressway-median branch.[3]

### Expressway-median station

[edit]

The expressway-median station opened on June 22, 1958. During the time when the CTA utilized skip-stop services, the station was designated as an A station, much like its elevated predecessor. This time, however, all stations on the Congress branch west of Racine station were A stations; B trains would run along the Douglas branch (part of today's Pink Line).[4][5]

## Bus connections

[edit]

CTA

* 7 Harrison (Weekdays only)
* 49 Western (Owl Service)
* X49 Western Express (Weekday Rush Hours only)

## 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. ^ "CTA revises Garfield, Douglas, institutes A-B service". Chicago Tribune. December 1, 1951. p. 4. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
3. ^ "Chicago L.org: Stations - Western". www.chicago-l.org. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
4. ^ Chicago Transit Authority System Map (Map). Chicago Transit Authority. March 1991. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
5. ^ "Chicago L.org: Stations - Western". www.chicago-l.org. Retrieved November 28, 2023.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Western (CTA Blue Line Congress branch).

* Western (Congress Line) Station Page Chicago-L.Org
* Western Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View

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Near West Side, Chicago

Areas|

* Fulton Market District
* Fulton River District
* Greektown
* Illinois Medical District
* Jackson Boulevard District and Extension
* Little Italy

Education|

| Primary and
secondary schools|

* Chicago Public Schools
* Crane HS
* Whitney M. Young Magnet HS
* Chicago Virtual Charter School [closed]
* Moses Montefiore Academy [closed]
* Chicago Bulls College Prep
* St. Ignatius College Prep

|

Colleges and
universities|

* Chicago-Kent College of Law
* Rush University
* Rush University Medical Center
* University of Illinois at Chicago
* Template
* City Colleges of Chicago
* Malcolm X College

Libraries|

* Chicago Public Library

Landmarks|

* 500 West Madison
* Addams/Medill Park
* Credit Union 1 Arena
* Groesbeck House
* Hull House
* Jane Byrne Interchange
* Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church
* National Hellenic Museum
* John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County
* Union Park
* Union Park Congregational Church and Carpenter Chapel
* Union Park Hotel
* United Center
* Chicago Stadium (demolished)

CTA stations|

* Ashland (Green and Pink Lines)
* Ashland (Orange Line)
* Clinton (Blue Line)
* Clinton (Green and Pink Lines)
* Damen (Green Line)
* Illinois Medical District (Blue Line)
* Morgan
* Racine (Blue Line)
* UIC–Halsted (Blue Line)
* Western (Blue Line Congress branch)

Metra stations|

* Halsted Street station
* Ogilvie Transportation Center

Amtrak stations|

* Chicago Union Station

History|

* 1996 Democratic National Convention

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Current Chicago "L" stations

Blue Line|

* O'Hare
* Rosemont
* Cumberland
* Harlem (O'Hare branch)
* Jefferson Park
* Montrose
* Irving Park
* Addison
* Belmont
* Logan Square
* California
* Western (O'Hare branch)
* Damen
* Division
* Chicago
* Grand
* Clark/Lake
* Washington
* Monroe
* Jackson
* LaSalle
* Clinton
* UIC–Halsted
* Racine
* Illinois Medical District
* Western (Forest Park branch)
* Kedzie–Homan
* Pulaski
* Cicero
* Austin
* Oak Park
* Harlem (Forest Park branch)
* Forest Park

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