Orange Line (CTA)
| Company type | Rapid transit route |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public transportation |
| Founded | October 31, 1993 |
| Headquarters | Chicago , United States |
Area served | Southwest Side, Chicago Loop, Midway International Airport |
| Owner | Chicago Transit Authority |
| Website | www |
The Orange Line is a rapid transit route in Chicago, managed by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) as part of the Chicago "L" network. Covering roughly , it connects the Southwest Side with the Loop and extends to Midway International Airport. In 2023, the average weekday ridership was recorded at 16,979 boardings.
Route
Beginning at Midway International Airport, the Orange Line emerges from an open cut and rises onto an elevated viaduct near 55th Street, then continues northeast along a railroad right-of-way. It travels eastward adjacent to a CSX Transportation line close to 49th Street and Lawndale Avenue, before curving northward along embankments toward Western Boulevard and Pershing Road.
The line ascends once more to cross Archer Avenue, CSX tracks, and Western Boulevard on an elevated structure, then descends onto the Illinois Central Railroad (Canadian National) right-of-way. It proceeds at grade level to Ashland Avenue, crossing Bubbly Creek, and continues on an embankment through combined Illinois Central and BNSF Railroad corridors up to Canal Street.
Returning to an elevated alignment, the Orange Line crosses over Canal Street, Cermak Road, and Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad tracks before turning east along 18th Street. Near Wentworth Avenue, it passes above the Red Line and Rock Island District tracks, then merges with the South Side Elevated via a flying junction located between 16th and 17th Streets. From this point, it shares tracks with the Green Line heading toward Tower 12 at the Loop’s southeast corner.
Orange Line trains travel clockwise around the inner Loop, following Van Buren Street, Wells Street, Lake Street, and Wabash Avenue before returning to Midway.
The route comprises seven principal stations plus an eighth station at Roosevelt/Wabash, which is shared with Green Line services. This station offers a tunnel connection to the Roosevelt/State subway station on the Red Line.
A planned downtown superstation intended to facilitate express service between O'Hare and Midway airports was ultimately canceled due to considerable cost overruns encountered during excavation.
Operating hours and headways
On weekdays, the Orange Line operates between Midway and the Loop from 3:30 a.m. until 1:25 a.m.; on Saturdays service runs from 4 a.m. to 1:30 a.m.; Sundays see operations from 4:30 a.m. to 1:25 a.m. During weekday peak periods, trains run every 6 minutes (10 tph), midday service intervals are every 7.5 minutes (8 tph), and nighttime headways extend to every 12 minutes (5 tph). Saturday frequencies vary between 7.5 to 12 minutes (5–8 tph) during daytime hours and reduce to every 15–20 minutes (3–4 tph) late at night. Sunday service maintains a consistent schedule with 5 tph during daytime and drops to 3–4 tph overnight.
Rolling stock
The Orange Line predominantly utilizes 2600-series railcars. Between November 2012 and October 2014, some 2400-series cars were temporarily assigned, while 3200-series units remained in operation until October 2018. During weekday rush hours, trains typically consist of eight cars; outside peak times and on weekends, train lengths decrease to four cars except for special events.
Starting in June 2014, CTA began transferring 2600-series cars from the Blue Line as an interim replacement for retiring 2400-series cars. This transition involved cascading newer 2600-series vehicles from the Red Line fleet as those lines received new Bombardier-built 5000-series cars. The final retirement of all 2400-series railcars occurred in October 2014.
Although initially slated to receive 5000-series cars following upgrades on the Red Line, the Orange Line retained its existing 2600-series fleet indefinitely because all available 5000-series cars were allocated exclusively to other lines except for Blue and Brown Lines. The forthcoming introduction of 7000-series railcars is anticipated to modernize rolling stock on the Orange Line.
From September 2018 onward, all of the Orange Line’s remaining 3200-series railcars were reassigned to the Blue Line; consequently, as of October 2018 these cars no longer operate on the Orange Line.
History
Service on the Orange Line began on October 31, 1993, representing Chicago's first newly constructed rapid transit route since the Dan Ryan Line opened in 1969, and its first extension since the Blue Line reached O'Hare in 1984. The concept originated in the late 1930s with proposals for a high-speed subway linking the Loop to Midway (then Municipal Airport), though substantial planning efforts did not start until many years later.
The Southwest Transit Project of 1979 aimed to expand CTA service by utilizing existing rail corridors along the Archer-49th-Cicero route to reach Ford City Mall. Funding was sourced from Interstate Highway Transfer funds, which became available after the cancellation of expensive highway projects such as the Crosstown Expressway and Franklin Street subway. Federal backing was obtained through U.S. Representative William Lipinski, supported by President Ronald Reagan.
Construction commenced in 1987 with a $500 million budget and was completed by fall 1993. When the line opened, the CTA introduced a color-coded system for its rapid transit network, assigning this route the designation of Orange Line.
Former proposed extension
Certain CTA railcars still display rollsigns with "Ford City," referring to Ford City Mall, located approximately two miles (3 km) south of Midway Airport. Initially, Ford City was planned as the terminus for the Orange Line; however, financial limitations resulted in the line terminating at Midway instead.
In 2008, CTA projected that extending the Orange Line to Ford City would require about $200 million. Public input was gathered through community meetings within neighborhoods near Midway and Ford City.
Four potential corridors were evaluated for this extension: Cicero Avenue, Pulaski Road, and two combinations involving the Belt Railway with either Cicero or Kostner Avenues. The main alternatives considered were Cicero Avenue as a Bus Rapid Transit corridor and Belt/Cicero or Belt/Kostner as Heavy Rail Transit options. By April 2009, the Cicero Avenue/Belt Railway corridor emerged as the preferred choice. In December 2009, CTA selected the Belt/Cicero route as the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA). This plan proposed a trench along the Belt Railway right-of-way from Midway to 6400 South, transitioning into elevated structures over Marquette Road before continuing south along Cicero Avenue’s median to terminate near Ford City Mall.
Although CTA intended to proceed with an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and preliminary engineering work, plans for extending the Orange Line were ultimately abandoned.
Station listing
rowspan="12" |Chicago Loop style="background-color:#bbb"| Template:Cta style="background-color:#bbb"|Closed July17 ,1995 ; replaced by Washington/Wells Template:CtaDisabled access
(inner platform)Template:Rint Chicago "L": Blue , Brown , Green , Purple , Pink
Template:Rint CTA Buses:22 ,24 ,134 ,135 ,136 ,156 Template:Cta
(inner platform)Template:Rint Chicago "L": Red (Lake Red)
Template:Rint CTA Buses:2 ,6 ,10 ,29 ,36 ,62 ,146 ,148 style="background-color:#bbb"| Template:Cta style="background-color:#bbb"|Closed September3 ,2017 ; replaced by Washington/Wabash Template:CtaDisabled access
(inner platform)Template:Rint Metra: ME Line (Millennium Station)
Template:Rint NICTD: South Shore Line (Millennium Station)
Template:Rint CTA Buses:N4,J14 ,20 ,56 ,60,N66 ,124 ,147 ,157 style="background-color:#bbb"| Template:Cta style="background-color:#bbb"|Closed March16 ,2015 ; replaced by Washington/Wabash Template:Cta
(inner platform)Template:Rint Chicago "L": Purple , Green Brown Pink
Template:Rint CTA Buses:1 ,7 ,28 ,126 ,151
| Neighborhood | Station | Connections |
|---|---|---|
| Garfield Ridge/ Clearing |
Template:Cta Disabled access Template:Rint | Template:Rint CTA Buses: 47, 54B, 55, 55A, 55N, 59, 62H, N62, 63, 63W, 165 Template:Rint Pace Buses: 379, 383, 384, 385, 386, 390 Template:Rint RVMMTD Bus: Midway Commuter Template:Rint Midway International Airport |
| Archer Heights/ West Elsdon |
Template:Cta Disabled access Template:Rint | Template:Rint CTA Buses: 53A, 62 |
| Brighton Park/ Gage Park |
Template:Cta Disabled access Template:Rint | Template:Rint CTA Buses: 47, 51, 52, 52A |
| Brighton Park/ Gage Park/ New City |
Template:Cta Disabled access Template:Rint | Template:Rint CTA Buses: 48, 49, X49, 94 |
| McKinley Park | Template:Cta Disabled access Template:Rint | Template:Rint CTA Buses: 35, 39, 50, 62 |
| Lower West Side/ McKinley Park |
Template:Cta Disabled access | Template:Rint CTA Buses: 9, X9, 31, 62 |
| Bridgeport | Template:Cta Disabled access Template:Rint | Template:Rint CTA Buses: 8, 44, 62 |
| The Loop/ Near South Side |
Template:Cta Disabled access | Template:Rint Chicago "L": Template:Rcb, Template:Rcb Template:Rint Metra: Template:Rcb (Museum Campus/11th Street) Template:Rint NICTD: South Shore Line (Museum Campus/11th Street) Template:Rint CTA Buses:1 ,3 ,4 ,X4 ,12 ,18 ,29 ,62 ,130 ,146 ,192 |
| Template:Cta Disabled access (inner platform) |
Template:Rint Chicago "L": Purple , Brown , Pink , Red (Jackson Red), Blue (Jackson Blue) Template:Rint CTA Buses:2 ,6 ,10 ,22 ,24 ,29 ,36 ,62 ,130 ,146 ,147 ,148 | |
| Template:Cta (inner platform) |
Template:Rint Metra: Template:Rcb (LaSalle Street) Template:Rint CTA Buses:22 ,24 ,36 ,130 | |
| Template:Cta Disabled access (inner platform) |
Template:Rint Metra: Multiple lines (Union Station) Template:Rint Amtrak intercity and long-distance services (Union Station) Template:Rint CTA Buses:1 ,7 ,28 ,37 ,126 ,130 ,134 ,135 ,136 ,151 ,156 | |
| Template:Cta | Closed January30 ,1994 ; replaced by Washington/Wells | |
| Template:Cta Disabled access (inner platform) |
Template:Rint Chicago "L": Brown , Purple , Pink Template:Rint Metra: UP-Northwest and West Lines (Ogilvie Transportation Center) Template:Rint CTA buses:J14 ,20 ,37 ,56 ,60 ,124 ,157 |
After leaving Adams/Wabash station eastbound Orange Line trains proceed to Roosevelt before making all stops en route to Midway.