Chicago "L"

The Chicago "L" (short for "elevated") is a rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs in the U.S. state of Illinois. The system is operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), one of the three service boards of the Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA). It is the fourth-largest rapid transit system in the United States in terms of total route length, at 102.8 miles (165.4 km), as of 2014, and the third-busiest rapid transit system in the United States after the New York City Subway and the Washington Metro. As of January 2024, the "L" had 1,480 rail cars operating across eight different routes on 224.1 miles of track. CTA trains make about 1,888 trips each day servicing 146 train stations. In 2025, the system had 135,202,800 rides, or about 447,000 per weekday in the second quarter of 2026. The "L" provides 24-hour service on the Red and Blue Lines, making Chicago, New York City, London and Copenhagen the only four cities in the world to offer 24-hour train service on some of their lines throughout their respective city limits. The Orange Line has planned 24-hour service beginning in 2026. The oldest sections of the Chicago "L" started operations in 1892, making it the second-oldest rapid transit system in the Americas, after New York City's elevated lines. The "L" gained its name from "el" because most parts of the system run on elevated track, although portions of the network are in subway tunnels, at grade level, or in open cuts. The "L" has been credited for fostering the growth of Chicago's dense city core that is one of the city's distinguishing features. And according to urban engineer Christof Speiler, the system stands out in the United States because it continued to invest in...