Orange Line (CTA)

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 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, via the Orange and Blue Lines, but the project was canceled during the excavation process due to significant cost overruns.[2]

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, 8tph 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.

During morning rush hour, several Orange Line trains bound for the Loop continue toward the Brown Line after stopping at Adams/Wabash station; whereas several Brown Line trains bound for Midway continue as the Orange Line after stopping at Harold Washington Library station.[3]

The Orange Line is operated with the 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, where the lost capacity on the Blue Line is made up from reassignment of 2600-series cars from the Red Line, which are newer than the existing Blue Line cars, as they are 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 are delivered and assigned to the Red Line, replacing the Orange Line's remaining 2400-series cars until the Red Line is fully equipped with the 5000-series cars. The last 2400-series cars were retired from service in October 2014.

After the Red Line is 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.

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 Ford City Shopping Center. 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.[4]

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.

A former CTA car at the Fox River Trolley Museum displays a "Ford City" destination sign.

Destination signs on CTA trains have a line bearing Ford City.[5] 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. However, because of financial shortfalls, 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.[6]

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).[7] In April 2009, the Cicero Avenue/Belt Railway corridor was chosen as the most viable option and advanced in the Alternatives Analysis process.[8] 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.[9]

The CTA planned to prepare a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and complete preliminary engineering. However, the extension was canceled.[10]

Neighborhood	Station	Points of interest and notes
Garfield Ridge / Clearing	Midway	Connections: CTA Bus: 47 47th, 54B South Cicero, 55 Garfield, 55A 55th/Austin, 55N 55th/Narragansett, 59 59th/61st, 62H Archer/Harlem, N62 Archer, 63 63rd, 63W West 63rd, 165 West 65th Pace Bus: 379 Midway/Orland Sq, 382 Central/Clearing, 383 South Cicero, 384 Narragansett/Ridgeland, 385 87th/111th/127th, 386 South Harlem, 390 Midway CTA/UPS Hodgkins RVMMTD Bus: Midway Commuter Midway International Airport
Archer Heights / West Elsdon	Pulaski	Points of interest: Curie Metropolitan High School, The Polish Highlanders Alliance of North America Connections: CTA Bus: 53A South Pulaski, 62 Archer
Brighton Park / Gage Park	Kedzie	Points of interest: Marquette Park, Hayes Park, Nabisco Factory, Tarkington Park, Ashburn Connections: CTA Bus: 47 47th, 51 51st, 52 Kedzie, 52A South Kedzie
Brighton Park / Gage Park / New City	Western	Points of interest: St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, Holy Cross Church, Sherman Park Connections: CTA Bus: 48 South Damen, 49 Western, X49 Western Exp., 94 California
McKinley Park	35th/Archer	Points of interest: McKinley Park, St. Peter and Paul Church, St. Maurice Church Connections: CTA Bus: 35 31st/35th, 39 Pershing, 50 Damen, 62 Archer
Lower West Side / McKinley Park	Ashland	Points of interest: Bubbly Creek, St. Mary of Perpetual Help Catholic Church Connections: CTA Bus: 9 Ashland, X9 Ashland Exp., 31 31st, 62 Archer
Bridgeport	Halsted	Points of interest: Bridgeport, St. Barbara Church, and All Saints-St. Anthony Church Connections: CTA Bus: 8 Halsted, 44 Wallace/Racine, and 62 Archer
The Loop / Near South Side	Roosevelt	Points of interest: Field Museum of Natural History, Soldier Field, Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium Connections: CTA 'L' trains: Green Red Metra: ■ Metra Electric (at Museum Campus/11th Street) NICTD: South Shore Line (at Museum Campus/11th Street) CTA Bus: 12 Roosevelt, 18 16th/18th, 29 State, 62 Archer, 130 Museum Campus, 146 Inner Lake Shore/Michigan Exp., 192 University of Chicago Hospitals Exp.
The Loop	Harold Washington Library (inner platform)	Points of interest: Harold Washington Library, DePaul University, Robert Morris University, John Marshall Law School, Chicago Bar Association, Auditorium Building, Monadnock Building, Metropolitan Correctional Center Connections: CTA 'L' trains: Purple Brown Pink, Red (at Jackson), Blue (at Jackson) CTA Bus: 2 Hyde Park Exp., 6 Jackson Park Exp., 10 Museum of Science & Industry, 22 Clark, 24 Wentworth, 29 State, 36 Broadway, 62 Archer, 146 Inner Lake Shore/Michigan Exp., 147 Outer DuSable Lake Shore Exp.
	LaSalle/Van Buren (inner platform)	Points of interest: Chicago Board of Trade, Chicago Board Options Exchange Connections: Metra: ■ Rock Island (at LaSalle Street) CTA Bus: 22 Clark, 24 Wentworth, 36 Broadway, 130 Museum Campus
	Quincy (inner platform)	Points of interest: Willis Tower, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Connections: Metra: ■ BNSF, ■ Heritage Corridor, ■ Milwaukee District North, ■ Milwaukee District West, ■ North Central Service, ■ SouthWest Service (at Union Station) Amtrak long-distance: California Zephyr, City of New Orleans, Empire Builder, Southwest Chief, Texas Eagle, Lake Shore Limited, Capitol Limited (at Union Station) Amtrak intercity: Hiawatha, Illini and Saluki, Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, Cardinal, Pere Marquette, Wolverine, Blue Water, Lincoln Service (at Union Station) CTA Bus: 1 Bronzeville/Union Station, 7 Harrison, 28 Stony Island, 37 Sedgwick, 126 Jackson, 130 Museum Campus, 151 Sheridan, 156 LaSalle
	Madison/Wells	Closed January 30, 1994; demolished and replaced by Washington/Wells
	Washington/​Wells (inner platform)	Points of interest: Chicago City Hall, Civic Opera House, Chicago Mercantile Exchange Connections: CTA 'L' trains: Brown Purple Pink Metra: ■ Union Pacific North, ■ Union Pacific Northwest, ■ Union Pacific West (at Ogilvie Transportation Center) CTA buses: J14 Jeffery Jump, 20 Madison, 37 Sedgwick, 56 Milwaukee, 60 Blue Island/26th, 124 Navy Pier, 157 Streeterville/Taylor
	Randolph/Wells	Closed July 17, 1995; partially demolished and replaced by Washington/Wells
	Clark/Lake (inner platform)	Points of interest: James R. Thompson Center, Richard J. Daley Center Connections: CTA 'L' trains: Blue Brown Green Purple Pink CTA Bus: 22 Clark, 24 Wentworth, 134 Stockton/LaSalle Exp., 135 Clarendon/LaSalle Exp., 136 Sheridan/LaSalle Exp., 156 LaSalle
	State/Lake (inner platform)	Points of interest: Chicago Theatre, Gene Siskel Film Center, Harold Washington College Connections: CTA 'L' trains: Red (at Lake) CTA Bus: 2 Hyde Park Exp., 6 Jackson Park Exp., 10 Museum of Science & Industry, 29 State, 36 Broadway, 62 Archer, 146 Inner Lake Shore/Michigan Exp.
	Randolph/Wabash	Closed September 3, 2017; demolished and replaced by Washington/Wabash
	Washington/​Wabash (inner platform)	Points of interest: Marshall Field's State Street store (now Macy's), Chicago Cultural Center, Millennium Park Connections: Metra: ■ Metra Electric (at Millennium Station) NICTD: South Shore Line (at Millennium Station) CTA Bus: J14 Jeffery Jump, 20 Madison, 56 Milwaukee, 60 Blue Island/26th, 124 Navy Pier, 147 Outer DuSable Lake Shore Exp., 151 Sheridan, 157 Streeterville/Taylor
	Madison/Wabash	Closed March 16, 2015; demolished and replaced by Washington/Wabash
	Adams/Wabash (inner platform)	Points of interest: Grant Park, Petrillo Music Shell, Buckingham Fountain, Art Institute of Chicago, Orchestra Hall, DePaul University Connections: CTA 'L' trains: Purple Green Brown Pink CTA Bus: 1 Bronzeville/Union Station, 7 Harrison, 28 Stony Island, 126 Jackson, 151 Sheridan

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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to CTA Orange Line.

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