Chicago seeks to expand rail lines

But agency is short on money

Steve Hawley, Aug 18, 09.

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) board unanimously voted to expand its rapid transit rail lines, according to The Transport Politic. The three extensions, which would total nine miles and create six new stations, are expected to cost about $2 billion and could be implemented as early as 2016.

The agency chose to expand the city’s heavy rail system instead of relying on bus rapid transit. However, The Transport Politic notes, “The cash-poor CTA has yet to identify local funding sources that would contribute to the lines, however, so their completion remains in doubt.”

The routes, if implemented, would extend the Red and Orange Lines into Chicago’s South Side and the Yellow Line into a northern suburb. The Red Line extension is the longest, covering five miles and four new stations, and according to the article:

[It] will serve one of the city’s most transit-deprived neighborhoods. Those communities have been subjected to decades of disinvestment and a new rail line could provide a boost to efforts for transit-oriented development. The Red Line, which has almost universal support from the community, will likely be the transit agency’s first priority.

The article reports that the Orange Line extension is also supported by the local community, although the suburban Yellow Line extension is more controversial.

Photo credit: Daniel Schwen (GNU Free Documentation License)