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Blue Line (CTA)
The Blue Line is a 26.93-mile-long (43.34 km) Chicago "L" line which runs from O'Hare International Airport at the far northwest end of the city, through downtown via the Milwaukee–Dearborn subway and across the West Side to its southwest end in Forest Park, with a total of 33 stations (11 on the Forest Park branch, 9 in the Milwaukee–Dearborn subway and 13 on the O'Hare branch). At about 27 miles, it is the longest line on the Chicago "L" system and second busiest, and one of the longest local subway/elevated lines in the world. It has an average of 72,475 passengers boarding each weekday in 2023.
Chicago's Blue Line and Red Line offer 24-hour service, every day, year-round. This makes Chicago, New York City, and Copenhagen the only three cities in the world to offer local nonstop rail service throughout their city limits 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Blue Line is the only line in Chicago with more than one station having the exact same name. (The Blue Line has two stations at Harlem Avenue: one in the Kennedy Expressway on the Northwest side and one on the Eisenhower Expressway in Forest Park, Illinois. It also has two stations on Western Avenue: one on the segment between downtown and O'Hare, and one immediately west of downtown.) The Blue Line also has two in-system transfers (both in the Loop), and does not share tracks with any other 'L' line.
Before the adoption of color-coded names, the Blue Line was referred to as the West-Northwest Route, or more commonly, the O'Hare-Congress-Douglas route for its three branches. The Congress and Douglas branches were renamed for their terminals, Forest Park and 54th/Cermak, when the current color naming system was adopted in 1993. Blue Line service on the Douglas segment was replaced in April 2008 by the Pink Line.
The Blue Line is one of five "L" lines that run into Chicago suburbs, with the others being the Green, Purple, Pink, and Yellow lines. The Blue Line runs in three suburbs: Rosemont, Oak Park, and Forest Park.
The O'Hare branch is the longest section of the Blue Line (14.6 miles (23.5 km)) and comprises both the oldest and newest segments of the entire route. The line starts at O'Hare International Airport in an underground station below the airport's main parking garage, with direct pedestrian access to Terminals 1, 2 and 3. The line emerges in the median of the O'Hare main access road (Interstate 190) just northwest of Terminal 5, about a mile (1.6 km) west of Mannheim Road.
The line runs in the median of Interstate 190 east through Rosemont. The line has a station at River Road in Rosemont, which is also the location of the northern storage yard and served as a temporary terminal from 1983 to 1984 while the O'Hare station was being completed. The tracks then tunnel beneath the Kennedy Expressway/Northwest Tollway interchange near the Des Plaines River.
The line runs in the median of the Kennedy Expressway (Interstate 90) until a point southeast of Addison Street, making stops at Cumberland, Harlem, Jefferson Park, Montrose, Irving Park and Addison. Between Montrose and Irving Park, the line tunnels beneath an express lane exit. South of Addison Street, the line descends into a subway and turns south under Kimball Avenue. The line travels under Kimball Avenue and Milwaukee Avenue through Logan Square, making stops at Belmont and Logan Square.
South of Logan Square, the line emerges above ground onto an elevated structure parallel to Milwaukee Avenue. This section of structure, built in 1895 as part of the Metropolitan Elevated's Logan Square branch, is the oldest portion of the Blue Line, and the sole section of the line on an elevated viaduct. The three stations on this section (California, Western, and Damen) are also the only three stations on the line to use side platforms instead of island platforms.
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Blue Line (CTA)
The Blue Line is a 26.93-mile-long (43.34 km) Chicago "L" line which runs from O'Hare International Airport at the far northwest end of the city, through downtown via the Milwaukee–Dearborn subway and across the West Side to its southwest end in Forest Park, with a total of 33 stations (11 on the Forest Park branch, 9 in the Milwaukee–Dearborn subway and 13 on the O'Hare branch). At about 27 miles, it is the longest line on the Chicago "L" system and second busiest, and one of the longest local subway/elevated lines in the world. It has an average of 72,475 passengers boarding each weekday in 2023.
Chicago's Blue Line and Red Line offer 24-hour service, every day, year-round. This makes Chicago, New York City, and Copenhagen the only three cities in the world to offer local nonstop rail service throughout their city limits 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Blue Line is the only line in Chicago with more than one station having the exact same name. (The Blue Line has two stations at Harlem Avenue: one in the Kennedy Expressway on the Northwest side and one on the Eisenhower Expressway in Forest Park, Illinois. It also has two stations on Western Avenue: one on the segment between downtown and O'Hare, and one immediately west of downtown.) The Blue Line also has two in-system transfers (both in the Loop), and does not share tracks with any other 'L' line.
Before the adoption of color-coded names, the Blue Line was referred to as the West-Northwest Route, or more commonly, the O'Hare-Congress-Douglas route for its three branches. The Congress and Douglas branches were renamed for their terminals, Forest Park and 54th/Cermak, when the current color naming system was adopted in 1993. Blue Line service on the Douglas segment was replaced in April 2008 by the Pink Line.
The Blue Line is one of five "L" lines that run into Chicago suburbs, with the others being the Green, Purple, Pink, and Yellow lines. The Blue Line runs in three suburbs: Rosemont, Oak Park, and Forest Park.
The O'Hare branch is the longest section of the Blue Line (14.6 miles (23.5 km)) and comprises both the oldest and newest segments of the entire route. The line starts at O'Hare International Airport in an underground station below the airport's main parking garage, with direct pedestrian access to Terminals 1, 2 and 3. The line emerges in the median of the O'Hare main access road (Interstate 190) just northwest of Terminal 5, about a mile (1.6 km) west of Mannheim Road.
The line runs in the median of Interstate 190 east through Rosemont. The line has a station at River Road in Rosemont, which is also the location of the northern storage yard and served as a temporary terminal from 1983 to 1984 while the O'Hare station was being completed. The tracks then tunnel beneath the Kennedy Expressway/Northwest Tollway interchange near the Des Plaines River.
The line runs in the median of the Kennedy Expressway (Interstate 90) until a point southeast of Addison Street, making stops at Cumberland, Harlem, Jefferson Park, Montrose, Irving Park and Addison. Between Montrose and Irving Park, the line tunnels beneath an express lane exit. South of Addison Street, the line descends into a subway and turns south under Kimball Avenue. The line travels under Kimball Avenue and Milwaukee Avenue through Logan Square, making stops at Belmont and Logan Square.
South of Logan Square, the line emerges above ground onto an elevated structure parallel to Milwaukee Avenue. This section of structure, built in 1895 as part of the Metropolitan Elevated's Logan Square branch, is the oldest portion of the Blue Line, and the sole section of the line on an elevated viaduct. The three stations on this section (California, Western, and Damen) are also the only three stations on the line to use side platforms instead of island platforms.