Chicago Transit Authority

CHICAGO — The Chicago Transit Authority said it is investing nearly $20 million in railroad track and station improvements to the southern Green Line. The projects will prepare the Green Line to handle an increase in passengers related to the five-month reconstruction of the Red Line South beginning in May, and will benefit Green Line customers for the long term with increased service reliability and fewer delays. Improvements that have been made or will be completed by May include improvements and temporary expansion of two Green Line stations, Garfield and Ashland/63rd, and significant track and signal work beginning south of

CHICAGO — The Chicago Transit Authority last week began testing the 5000-series prototype rail cars on the Pink Line.

CHICAGO — The Chicago Transit Authority said that a pilot version of the CTA Train Tracker will be launched in early January.

CHICAGO — The Chicago Transit Authority Board approved a $56.6 million contract for renewal of approximately 36,000 feet of track in the Blue Line Dearborn subway. Funding for the work is being provided by “stimulus funds.” The work will remove the existing slow zones and help prevent the creation of new slow zones in the Dearborn subway. In 2007 and 2008, CTA eliminated 6,336 feet of slow zones in the Blue Line subway between the Damen and Clark/Lake stations. “The allocation of stimulus funding comes at a critical time for CTA as the agency needs funding to maintain an aging

CHICAGO — One person was injured when a Chicago Transit Authority train derailed, according to published reports. The derailment on the CTA’s red line comes a week after a green line train derailed. Fourteen people were injured in the Green Line derailment. None of the four cars in today’s derailment overturned, and all of the train passengers walked to a nearby station. — Railfanning.org News Wire

CHICAGO — The Chicago Transit Authority announced an aggressive schedule to eliminate eight miles of slow zones on branches of two of its busiest rail lines – the north branch of the Red Line and the subway portion of the O’Hare branch of the Blue Line. The subway portion of the Blue Line work is underway and will be completed by mid-September and the Red Line work will be completed by year-end. Over the last ten weeks, CTA engineers have been focused on developing a detailed specification for re-building the Blue Line tracks from Addison to O’Hare. “We know our