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CTA to Suspend Loop Elevated Train Service This Weekend for Track Maintenance
A CTA train makes its way through downtown Chicago. (Rawf8 / iStock)
Elevated train service in the Loop will be suspended this weekend for track maintenance, affecting service on the Brown, Green, Orange and Pink lines, the Chicago Transit Authority announced Wednesday.
Service is being affected due to track maintenance at CTA’s largest junction, located at Lake and Wells streets.
Track work is set to begin at 4 a.m. Saturday. Regular service is scheduled to resume at 4 a.m. Monday following completion of the work and required testing. Shuttle buses will operate around the affected area.
(Courtesy of CTA)
CTA shared the following information for riders:
— Green Line: Trains will operate between Harlem/Lake and Clinton, and separately between Roosevelt and the South Side terminals. Shuttle buses will operate between Clinton and Roosevelt, replacing the Clinton-Clark/Lake shuttle used during the first phase of the Lake Street Bridge closure. Riders traveling to/from the downtown area from the South Side branches can also connect to Red Line service at Roosevelt station.
— Brown Line: Trains will operate between Kimball and Merchandise Mart. Riders traveling downtown can connect to Red Line trains at Belmont and Fullerton stations. Shuttle buses will also be provided to connect customers between Merchandise Mart and Harold Washington Library-State/Van Buren.
— Orange Line: Trains will operate between Midway and Roosevelt. Customers traveling between Roosevelt and the Loop can use the shuttle buses operating between Roosevelt and Clinton.
— Pink Line: Trains will continue to operate between 54th/Cermak and the Racine Blue Line station. Customers traveling to or from downtown can transfer between Pink and Blue Line trains at Racine. Pink Line trains will not operate around the Loop.
For more information, visit CTA’s customer alert for the temporary suspension of Loop ‘L’ service.
Riders should plan ahead and allow for additional travel time, according to the transit agency.
The junction at Lake and Wells is one of the busiest rail interlockings in the nation and requires significant maintenance every 10 years, according to the CTA. The maintenance work scheduled this weekend is a continuation of work that began last fall, the transit agency said.
The CTA said it aims to leverage the ongoing closure of Pink and Green Line service due to the Lake Street Bridge replacement to repair the remaining two quadrants of the junction.
Contact Eunice Alpasan: [email protected]
