Red Line (CTA)

The northern terminus of the Red Line is Howard in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, on the north side. The Red Line extends southeasterly on an elevated embankment structure about a half-mile (1 kilometer) west of the lakefront to Touhy Avenue then turns south along Glenwood Avenue to Morse station.

From there the route swings on a sweeping reverse curve to the east to Sheridan Road, adjacent to Loyola University Chicago and continues southerly parallel to Broadway to the east (in Edgewater) and follows Broadway to Leland Avenue. From here, the route transitions from concrete embankment to steel elevated structure. The "L" continues southward running adjacent the Graceland Cemetery, Irving Park Road and Sheffield Avenue from Uptown to Lincoln Park. The Brown Line (Ravenswood) joins the Red Line tracks just north of Belmont.

South of Belmont, Red, Brown and Purple Line Express trains run side-by-side on the four track North Side "L" to Armitage. Red Line trains run on the two middle tracks, only making two stops at Belmont & Fullerton and skipping Wellington, Diversey and Armitage.

Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, is served by the Addison station. Additionally, Guaranteed Rate Field, home of the Chicago White Sox, is served by the Sox–35th station.

The North Side Main Line of the Red Line travels from Howard station to Armitage station.

After running through Armitage, the Red Line descends to a portal at Willow Street and enters the subway, turning southeast on Clybourn Avenue, east at Division Street, and south at State Street through the Loop to Roosevelt Road. South of Roosevelt Road, there is a junction, with one pair of tracks curving to the east and leaving the subway at 13th Street and connecting to the old South Side "L" at 18th and State Streets. This section was used from October 1943 until February 1993, when trains from Howard were routed to the Englewood and Jackson Park branches, today the south branches of the Green Line.

The 13th Street portal is now used for non-service train moves and emergency purposes. The 13th Street portal was used again for regular "L" service from May until October 2013, because Red Line trains were rerouted to the Green Line's South Side Main Line tracks and terminated at Ashland/63rd during the five months of the Red Line South Reconstruction Project. This service was used again from April to November 2017 and July 2018 to April 2019.

The Red Line is the only Chicago "L" line that connects to all seven other "L" lines full time. The Purple Line shares the distinction only when it runs its weekday rush hour route.

At 13th Street, the subway swings away from State Street on a reverse curve to the southwest then rises to another portal at 16th Street adjacent Metra's Rock Island District line. The Red Line leaves at 16th Street and continues southward on an elevated structure to 24th Street. There is a stop at Cermak–Chinatown on this portion.

South of Cermak Road, the Red Line tracks enter the median strip of the Franklin Street Connector, The Red Line then tunnels beneath the expressway interchange between 28th and 30th Streets and continues the rest of the way to 95th Street in the median of the Dan Ryan Expressway (Interstate 90 & 94). Chicago pioneered using expressway medians for local "L" train lines (the other two being the Eisenhower Expressway and Kennedy Expressways, which both carry portions of the Blue Line). The Red Line follows the Dan Ryan the rest of the way to the 95th Street terminal in Roseland.

The 98th Yard lies just south and east of the Dan Ryan–Bishop Ford Freeway interchange. Beyond the interchange, the Dan Ryan Expressway and Bishop Ford Freeway both continue towards the south city limits without a transit line in the median strips, but were built with wide grass medians in which future extensions of the rapid transit line remain an option. As of the early 2020s, An extension to 130th Street is in its final planning stages. This extension includes three elevated stations at 103rd, 111th, and Michigan, an at-grade terminal station at 130th.

Stations along the Red Line serve important Chicago landmarks such as Guaranteed Rate Field and the Illinois Institute of Technology (Sox–35th), DePaul University (Fullerton), the Auditorium Building of Roosevelt University and Loyola University Chicago (Loyola), as well as the Magnificent Mile and Chinatown.

In May 2013, the branch, along with all nine stations, closed for five months to allow the replacement of the tracks and for construction crews to improve the stations on the branch.[4] The newly reconstructed Dan Ryan branch and the nine stations reopened in October 2013.[5]

In spring 2012, the CTA started a station and track rehabilitation program dubbed "Red Ahead",[14] beginning on the North Side Main Line, which is called the "Red North" project.[15] The program monitors the full route of the Red Line, excluding the Loyola, Bryn Mawr, Sheridan, or Wilson station.[16] This also does not include stations between Wilson through Fullerton, nor the State Street subway. In May 2012, the CTA started to work on the North Side Main Line stations of the Red Line which includes Jarvis, Morse, Granville, Thorndale, Berwyn, Argyle and Lawrence. The stations are listed in order, starting at Granville, then Morse, Thorndale, Argyle, Berwyn, Lawrence and finally Jarvis. This project started in June 2012 and was completed in December 2012. This project is also part of the Red Ahead's "Red & Purple Modernization" Project.[17]

The Red & Purple Modernization Project will include a redesign of a diamond junction north of Belmont Station into a flyover for Brown Line trains. This project will decrease train backups and increase the number of trains that can cross the junction per hour.[18] The project was criticized by 2015 mayoral candidate Chuy García and local residents in the Lakeview neighborhood who organized a referendum to stop it.[19][20] The Federal Transit Administration passed the CTA's environmental review on the flyover in January 2016 and received a $1.1 billion federal grant the following year.[21][22] 16 properties affected by the flyover were demolished. Construction began on October 2, 2019,[23][24][25] and the flyover entered service on November 19, 2021.[26]

Since 2006, proposals have been underway to extend the Red Line south from 95th Street. The CTA developed nine different proposed routes, one of which includes routing the Red Line down the median of the Bishop Ford Freeway and another in the median of Interstate 57. During an alternatives analysis meeting on April 11, 2007, CTA narrowed further study down to five possible routes, two for bus rapid transit and three for heavy rail (rapid) transit. The two bus routes would travel south from the 95th/Dan Ryan terminal either down Halsted Street or Michigan Avenue, while the heavy rail routes left for consideration were the Halsted and Michigan corridors (either underground or elevated) as well as the Union Pacific Railroad corridor (elevated or trench), which would traverse southeastward toward the South Shore Line. In October 2008, the CTA commissioned a $150,000 study of an extension due south to 130th/Stony Island in the community area of Riverdale.[27]

In December 2008, at the Screen 2 presentation of the federally mandated Alternatives Analysis Study, the possible corridors and modes of transit were furthered narrowed down to either Halsted Street (bus rapid transit or elevated Heavy Rail Transit) and the Union Pacific Railroad corridor (elevated Heavy Rail Transit).[28]

In December 2009, the CTA identified the locally preferred alternative as the Union Pacific corridor.[29] A map and description of the route are found at TransitChicago.com.[29] Multiple Environmental Impact Studies will be carried out, and will determine exact alignments and design.[29][30]

The alignment consists of a new elevated rail line between 95th/Dan Ryan and a new terminal station at 130th Street, paralleling the Union Pacific Railroad and the South Shore Line through the Far South Side neighborhoods of Roseland, Washington Heights, West Pullman and Riverdale. In addition to the terminal station at 130th, three new stations would be built at 103rd, 111th, and Michigan, and a new yard and shop would be built at 120th Street.[31] Basic engineering, along with an environmental impact statement, are currently underway.[32]