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Title:

South over the Alleys: Rise, Fall, and Rebuilding of Chicago's South Side "L"

Accession Number:

01129365

Record Type:

Component

Availability:

Transportation Research Board Business Office

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Abstract:

Chicago’s South Side ‘L’ is one of the world’s oldest rapid transit lines. Dating back to 1892, its long history is emblematic of the challenges of older urban rail lines. After enjoying strong ridership through the late 1960s, it entered a long period of decline and physical deterioration. Between 1994 and 1996 the line was closed for rehabilitation, and ridership has been slowly returning since 1996. The physical plant, operations, history, demography and ridership of the South Side ‘L’ are examined. Ridership has been greatly influenced by the 1969 opening of a nearby rapid transit line, large population losses in the catchment area, and a decision to close the line for rebuilding in 1994-1996. The changing fortunes of the South Side ‘L’ suggest that making major investment decisions in older urban areas can be challenging, but recent demographic developments indicate that the line may have an encouraging future. Chicago’s South Side elevated, now operated as part of the Chicago Transit Authority’s Green Line, is the city’s oldest rapid transit line, and along with the Lake Street elevated, is Chicago’s first rapid transit line to be rebuilt on its existing alignment. Today, this ‘L’ line (Chicago uses the term ‘L’ for its rapid transit) has relatively simple operations and moderate ridership. But during its first half century it had a complex set of local and express services with shuttle and through service on multiple branches, and its history encompasses the ups and downs of urban rail transit. This paper traces its development and discusses implications for transit agencies.

Monograph Accession #:

01120148

Report/Paper Numbers:

09-1644

Language:

English

Corporate Authors:

Transportation Research Board

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Authors:

Allen, John G
Levinson, Herbert S
Garfield, Graham C
Coppoletta, Anthony

Pagination:

19p

Publication Date:

2009

Conference:

Transportation Research Board 88th Annual Meeting

Location: Washington DC, United States
Date: 2009-1-11 to 2009-1-15
Sponsors: Transportation Research Board

Media Type:

DVD

Features:

Maps (3) ; References (32) ; Tables (2)

Geographic Terms:

Chicago (Illinois)

Subject Areas:

Maintenance and Preservation; Operations and Traffic Management; Public Transportation

Source Data:

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2009 Paper #09-1644

Files:

TRIS, TRB

Created Date:

Jan 30 2009 5:53PM