CTA advisories for August 2007 Options

[KevinKorell]

Northbound Red Line Rerouted to Loop Elevated During Weeknights

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Northbound Red Line Subway Trains Rerouted to Loop Elevated
Northbound Red Line service will operate on the Loop elevated tracks during construction.

Effective 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. the next morning on the following dates:

Monday, August 6 through Thursday, August 9, Monday, August 13 through Thursday, August 16 and Monday, August 20 through Thursday, August 23, 2007

From the Cermak-Chinatown station, northbound Red Line trains will make station stops as follows:

• Roosevelt (accessible) (connects to Green/Orange elevated lines)
• Adams/Wabash ( connects to Green/Orange/Pink elevated lines)
• Madison/Wabash
• Randolph/Wabash
• State/Lake
• Clark/Lake (accessible) ( connects to Brown/Green/Orange/Pink elevated lines and Blue Line subway)
• Merchandise Mart (accessible) (Brown Line) —Exit only (via stairway) on Saturday mornings between 12:50 a.m. and 5:10 a.m. and Sunday mornings between 12:50 a.m. and 7:10 a.m.

Trains will then run express to the Fullerton (Red/Brown lines) station to resume regular routing to Howard (Red/Purple lines).

Northbound from Downtown — Board northbound Red Line trains at any elevated station along Wabash or Lake (Outer Loop track).

Northbound from the Grand, Chicago (accessible), Clark/Division and North/Clybourn Red Line stations — Board a southbound train and exit at Lake (accessible) to board northbound Red Line trains at the State/Lake elevated station (Outer Loop track).

Southbound trains are not affected.

[KevinKorell]

Blue Line Slow Zone Elimination Project

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The following work is part of an aggressive new plan to eliminate slow zones. CTA is replacing deteriorated wooden rail ties with concrete rail ties which will eliminate slow zones along the tracks between Grand and Division and restore normal train speed to 55 mph.

For the next two months Blue Line trains will be operating on a single track between Grand and Division overnight and on select weekends. In addition, on five weekends when no major festivals are scheduled in the downtown area, sections of track will shut down to allow more work to be completed. On those weekends, supplemental bus service will be provided in lieu of rail service.

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Weekend Blue Line Subway Closure

Effective 11:00 p.m., Friday, August 10 until 1:00 a.m., Monday, August 13, 2007

Due to construction to eliminate slow zones, Blue Line rail service will be temporarily suspended in both directions between the Jackson and Western/Milwaukee stations. Bus shuttles* will operate as a substitute for rail service, making all stops from Jackson (accessible) to Western/Milwaukee.

Service:

Middays — Every 3 to 4 minutes
All other times — every 7 to 15 minutes

*Note: The bus shuttle is free to customers transferring from trains at Western/Milwaukee (to the Loop) and at Jackson/Dearborn (to Western/Milwaukee). At all other stops regular CTA fare apply.

Service between Jefferson Park and downtown is also provided by #56 Milwaukee buses along Milwaukee Avenue.


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Weeknight Track Work

•8 p.m. until 4 a.m. the following morning, Monday, August 6 until Wednesday, August 8, 2007
• 8 p.m., Thursday, August 9 until 4 a.m., Friday, August 10, 2007

Track work is underway to improve your ride. Please allow extra travel time.

Blue Line trains may be delayed during construction work between the Grand and Damen (O’Hare branch) stations.

[KevinKorell]

Blue Line Temporary Weekend Subway Closure August 10 - 13, 2007

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Temporary Weekend Subway Closure

Effective 11:00 p.m., Friday, August 10 until 1:00 a.m., Monday, August 13, 2007

Due to construction to eliminate slow zones, Blue Line rail service will be temporarily suspended in both directions between the Jackson and Western/Milwaukee stations. Bus shuttles* will operate as a substitute for rail service, making all stops from Jackson to Western/Milwaukee.

Service:

Middays — Every 3 to 4 minutes
All other times — every 7 to 15 minutes

*Note: The bus shuttle is free to customers transferring from trains at Western/Milwaukee (to the Loop) and at Jackson/Dearborn (to Western/Milwaukee). At all other stops regular CTA fare apply.

Service between Jefferson Park and downtown is also provided by #56 Milwaukee buses along Milwaukee Avenue.

[KevinKorell]

New Northbound Track and Platform Boarding at Belmont 8/9/07

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Effective 10 p.m., Thursday, August 9, 2007

All northbound trains (Brown, Purple Line Express and Red lines) will use the new northbound track.

•Board northbound trains on the east side of the new northbound platform.

•Boarding for southbound trains is not affected.

•Three-track operation will continue at this station. Please allow additional travel time.