page_title: Purple Line (CTA)
section_title: CTA era
hierarchical_section_title: Purple Line (CTA) / History / CTA era
caption_attribution_description: English: Franklin Street under w:Chicago 'L'.
context_page_description: The Purple Line of the Chicago "L" is a 3.9-mile route on the northernmost section of the system. Normally, it extends south from Linden in Wilmette, passing through Evanston to Howard, on Chicago's North Side. In 2016, the average weekday boardings on the Purple Line was 10,187. It is the shortest route in the CTA rail system.
  During weekday rush hours, the Purple Line extends another 10.3 miles south from Howard to downtown Chicago running express from Howard to Belmont, with a single stop at Wilson, and then making all local stops to the Loop. The express service is known as the Purple Line Express.
  Prior to the color-coding of CTA rail lines in 1993, the Purple Line was known as the Evanston Line, Evanston Service or Evanston Shuttle, and the Purple Line Express was called the Evanston Express.
  The Purple Line is useful for reaching Northwestern University, including the sports facilities Ryan Field, Rocky Miller Park, Welsh-Ryan Arena, and Canal Shores Golf Course all at the Central stop and the Bahá'í House of Worship at Linden. The selection of purple as the line's color was likely from Northwestern's official school color.
context_section_description: The current service which was to become the Purple Line went into effect on July 31, 1949, after a massive service reorientation on the North–South rapid transit system by the still infant Chicago Transit Authority. Local service was restricted between Linden Avenue and Howard Street, operating at all times. The express service ran weekday rush hours only, stopping at all stations in Wilmette and Evanston, plus Howard, Morse (formerly Rogers Park), Loyola, Wilson, Chicago/Franklin, Merchandise Mart and all Loop stations. While skip-stop service was also introduced at this time, Evanston trains continued to make all stops at their stations. An express surcharge was also instituted for customers traveling to and from the Loop past Howard. Several attempts were made to reduce or eliminate the fare, backed by local politicians.
  Right-of-way and trackage used by the Evanston Branch and the North–South Route (today's Red Line) between Leland Avenue and the Wilmette terminal was purchased by the CTA in 1953 from the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. In turn, the railroad received $7 million USD in CTA revenue bonds.
  Midday and Saturday Loop Express service was discontinued in the 1950s and the local shuttle service began using one-man operations with single unit cars in the 1960s.
  On July 16, 1973, the Isabella station closed, bringing the total number of stations on the Evanston branch to eight.
  On November 8, 1973, the third rail system was installed on the Evanston Branch between South Boulevard in Evanston and the Wilmette terminal. Prior to this, Evanston shuttle trains had to be equipped with trolley poles and power collected through overhead catenary wires (similar to the Yellow Line before its conversion to third rail in 2004). The conversion to third rail allowed the CTA to retire the 4000-Series, which were nearly 50 years old and put newer cars on the line. Since parts of the line are at grade level, some community members initially resisted the conversion and worried the proximity of the rail would be hazardous.
  By the end of 1976, the Evanston Express ran nonstop between Howard and Merchandise Mart, no longer stopping at Morse, Loyola, Wilson or Chicago/Franklin. The CTA cited complaints about delays in service due to the extra stops as justification for their removal.
  However, on January 20, 1989, express trains once more began making additional stops outside the Loop, at the Belmont and Fullerton stations, in order to relieve overcrowding on the rapidly growing Ravenswood branch (now the Brown Line). By the end of the 1990s, trains would make all stops between Belmont and the Loop.
  The express surcharge was eventually dropped in 1997 as an incentive for customers to use the new TransitCard system.
  The overnight "owl service" was eliminated during a service purge by the CTA on April 26, 1998. However, the hours of express operation were expanded on December 16, 2001, for a 180-day trial period. Trains departed Linden for downtown one hour earlier in the morning rush and one hour later in the evening rush. The expanded hours were later made permanent and in 2004 afternoon rush service was also revised to begin 25 minutes earlier.
  In 2005, the CTA embarked on a project to replace six deteriorating viaducts on the Evanston branch of the Purple Line. The poor condition of the century-old viaducts forced the implementation of permanent slow zones and were a point of contention for many Evanston politicians. They claimed CTA had secured funds and promised to begin replacing the viaducts starting in 1999, but had diverted the funds to other projects. The CTA responded that it only provided projected uses and had not committed the money to any specific purpose. The Main Street viaduct was completely replaced over the weekend of November 12–13, 2005, requiring the temporary shutdown of the Purple Line. Construction was completed by the Monday morning rush hour. The Church Street viaduct was replaced next; preliminary work at that location began in July 2006 and the new viaduct was installed in late October
caption: The Brown and Purple Lines run above vehicle traffic on Franklin Street in the Near North Side community area.
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