Lake Street Elevated

The Lake Street Elevated, also known as the Lake Branch, is a  long branch of the Chicago "L" which is located west of the Chicago Loop and serves the Green Line for its entire length, as well as the Pink Line east of Ashland Avenue. As of February 2013, the branch serves an average of 27,217 passengers each weekday. It serves the Near West Side, East Garfield Park, West Garfield Park, and Austin neighborhoods of Chicago, as well as the suburbs Oak Park and Forest Park. It owes its name to Lake Street, the street that the branch overlooks for  before continuing its route straight west, adjacent to South Boulevard, towards the terminus at Harlem/Lake. The branch runs from 3:50 am to 1:25 am on weekdays, 4:50 am to 1:25 am on Saturdays and Sundays/Holidays.

History
The Lake Street Elevated began regular passenger service on November 6, 1893, from its eastern terminal at Madison Street and Market Street to California Avenue. On November 24, 1893 service on the line was extended to Homan Avenue. In March 1894, service on the line was extended to 48th Avenue (now known as Cicero Avenue) and on April 29, 1894, service was extended to 52nd Avenue (now known as Laramie Avenue), which at the time was the city limits of Chicago. When the completed Loop opened October 3, 1897, the Lake Street Elevated became the first line to utilize the entire quadrangle. In 1898, an agreement was reached with Cicero Township to extend the Lake Street Elevated beyond the Chicago city limits into what at the time was Cicero Township. This agreement allowed for the extension of the Lake Street Elevated along South Boulevard, as well as the creation of the Randolph Street and Cuyler Avenue branches. On January 25, 1901, service was extended to Wisconsin Avenue (later called Marion), and on May 20, 1910, service was extended to its terminal approximately two blocks west of Harlem Avenue in Forest Park.

In April 1948, the Lake Street Elevated was the first line of the 'L' system to use the Skip-Stop A/B service. Upon the implementation of Skip-Stop A/B service ten stations on the Lake Street Elevated were closed, as was the Market Street Stub, and all trains were routed through the Loop. This new system decreased the travel time of 24–35 minutes, which was considered by the CTA and its users to be a great success.

In 1962,  of ground level tracks in Chicago's Austin neighborhood and Oak Park, Illinois were replaced by elevated tracks which run on Chicago & North Western Railroad's track embankment. New stations were built at Central, Austin, Ridgeland and Oak Park. and a new terminus opened at Harlem, replacing the station at Marion and the Forest Park terminus.

Market Street stub
Prior to the opening of the Loop elevated in 1897, the Lake Street Elevated's eastern terminus was the Market Terminal at Madison Street and Market Street. After the opening of the Loop in 1897, service continued to the Market Street stub, which had a stop at Randolph & Market in addition to the terminal at Madison & Market. Service to the Market Street stub ended on April 4, 1948, as the CTA implemented its new A/B skip-stop service. The Market Street stub was demolished soon after to make way for construction of Wacker Drive.

New Morgan station

Construction of the new Morgan station began in Summer 2010. TranSystems led the design team, in conjunction with Ross Barney Architects. Like most currently active Green Line and Pink Line stations, Morgan is ADA-accessible, with an elevator on either side of the tracks. The station will also have bike storage.

The new Morgan station officially opened on May 18, 2012, and grand opening ceremonies were held on May 24.

New Damen station

The new $60 million Damen station will fill a 1.5 mile distance between the California and Ashland stations. a design for the new station was released on July 9, 2018, groundbreaking of the new station began in May 2019, with construction beginning in late 2019, and will be completed in 2021.

Service
Until 1969, the Lake Branch was an independent branch line providing service in one direction only, like the Ravenswood and Evanston Express Lines: from the Loop to the West Side, Oak Park, and Forest Park. On September 28, 1969, it was combined with the newly opened Dan Ryan branch to form the West-South Route, providing for the first time through rail service between Harlem and 95th via the north and east legs of the Loop, the old South Side Main Line and the 18th Street-Wentworth Avenue Connection between 17th Street and Archer Avenue before entering the Dan Ryan Expressway median. This operation lasted for 24 years. On February 21, 1993, when the CTA began to differentiate the L lines by colors, the present day Green Line was assigned to the Lake Branch and service was "switched" south of Roosevelt Road and now continue on the South Side Main Line towards Cottage Grove and Ashland/63rd, the route was formerly paired to the Howard branch of the North-South route. On January 9, 1994, the Lake Branch and the entire Green Line closed for two years to undergo a rehabilitation project. When the line reopened on May 12, 1996, most stations were rebuilt and equipped with elevators in order to make them ADA compliant, and six stations were permanently closed.

On April 26, 1998, the Green, Purple, Brown and the Cermak Branch of the Blue Line (now the Pink Line) lost their 24-hour service. In 2006, the Chicago Transit Authority created the Pink Line, which serves the Clinton, Morgan, and Ashland stations on the Lake Street Branch, before connecting to the Douglas Branch via the rebuilt Paulina Connector.

Station listing

Image gallery

See also
Lake Street Elevated Railroad

References

External links
Green Line: Lake Street Elevated at Chicago-L.org

Category:Chicago Transit Authority
Category:Railway lines in Chicago