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Brown Line
A Brown Line train in the Kimball terminal.
Info
Type	Rapid transit
System	Chicago 'L'
Status	Operational
Locale	Chicago, Illinois, USA
Terminals	Kimball Loop
No. of stations	28
Daily ridership	66,000 (weekday)
Operation
Opened	May 18, 1907
Operator(s)	Chicago Transit Authority
Rolling stock	3200-series
Technical
Line length	11.4 mi
Electrification	Third rail
Line map     Kimball     Kedzie     Francisco     Rockwell     Western   Damen     Montrose   Irving Park     Addison     Paulina   Southport             Belmont         Wellington     Diversey             Fullerton         Armitage         Sedgwick         Chicago         Merchandise Mart Loop (counter-clockwise) Map Legend     Transfer to Purple Line     Transfer to Red Line ADA accessible station Station closed for reconstruction Parking

The Brown Line (Ravenswood Service) of the Chicago Transit Authority Chicago 'L' rapid transit system, is an 11.4 mile route with 19 stations between Albany Park on the north and downtown Chicago. It runs completely above ground and is one of CTA's busiest rail lines, serving more than 66,000 passengers each weekday. The Brown Line runs completely within the city limits of Chicago, Illinois.

The Brown Line operates to the Loop weekdays and Saturdays from about 5am to 12:30am and on Sundays from 7am to midnight. The Brown Line Shuttle service, running only between the northern terminus Kimball and Belmont, runs from about 4am to 5am and about 12:30am to 2:30 am on weekdays and Saturdays, and about 5am to 6am and about midnight to 1am on Sundays. At Belmont, southbound riders can transfer to the 24-hour Red Line.

Before CTA lines were color-coded in 1993, the Brown Line was known as the Ravenswood Route; specifically, the series of stations from Belmont to Kimball were called the Ravenswood branch. Accordingly, the Kimball-Belmont shuttle service was called the Ravenswood Shuttle. Some Chicago transit riders and historians still refer to the line by those names.

Contents 1 Operation 2 Operating Fleet 3 History 4 Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project 5 Station listing 6 See also 7 External links

The Brown Line starts out in northwest Chicago, at the Kimball and Lawrence Avenue terminal (3400 W. - 4800 N.) in Albany Park, where there is a storage yard and servicing shop for the trains to the east of the passenger station. From there, trains operate over street level tracks between Leland and Eastwood Avenues to Rockwell Avenue, then ramp up to the elevated structure for the rest of the trip.

After the Damen station, the route turns south, about one-half block parallel and west of Metra's Union Pacific North railroad line to a point south of the Addison station. Here the route turns east again towards Sheffield Avenue where it once again turns south to join the four-track North Side elevated line in Lakeview. From just north of Belmont station southward to Armitage, Brown and Red Line trains operate side-by-side, with Purple Line Express trains sharing the tracks during weekday rush periods. Brown and Purple Line trains run on the outermost tracks serving five stops, while Red Line trains run on the innermost tracks making only two stops.

South of the Armitage station, Brown and Purple Line trains continue southward towards the Chicago Loop on elevated track which zigzags its way through the neighborhoods of Lincoln Park and Near North Side before stopping at Chicago and Franklin. Running over Franklin, then Wells Street, a stop is made at the Merchandise Mart before crossing the Chicago River on the upper lever of the Wells Street Bridge before joining the Loop Elevated at Lake Street. Operating counterclockwise, Brown Line trains extend around the Loop over the Outer track via Wells-Van Buren-Wabash-Lake, serving all Loop stations, before the return trip back north to the Albany Park terminal.

Currently, the Brown Line's rolling stock is comprised mostly of Morrison-Knudsen-built 3200-Series cars, purchased from 1992 to 1994 and the newest on the CTA system. It is also equipped with a handful of older Budd 2600-Series cars.

Although ridership would certainly warrant eight-car trains on the Ravenswood-Brown Line during rush periods, most stations on the line cannot berth longer than six-car trains. Six cars are standard on the Brown Line during weekday rush hours as well as midday. Early morning, late evening, and weekend service is generally provided by four-car trains, although this may vary due to special events.

The Ravenswood branch was opened on May 18, 1907 by the former Northwestern Elevated Railroad Company between the Loop and Western and Leland Avenues in Lincoln Square. The route was completed to the Kimball/Lawrence terminal on December 14, 1907. The Ravenswood Line remains basically unchanged since its early days, aside from a few cosmetic upgrades to its stations and elevated structures. The Kimball/Lawrence terminal was completely remodeled and a new bridge over the North Branch of the Chicago River was completed in the 1970s. The Western and Merchandise Mart stations were rebuilt in the 1980s. Prior to the start of the Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project these two stations, along with the Kimball/Lawrence terminal comprised the only ADA accessible stations on the Brown Line outside of the Loop.

On February 20, 2006 the CTA formally broke ground on the Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project in order to repair its aging infrastructure and increase passenger capacity at Brown Line stations. The primary features of the project include:

• Reconstruction of stations and trackage and make each station ADA compliant
• Lengthening of platforms to accommodate eight-car trains
• Modernization of right-of-way between Kimball and Rockwell Avenue
• Upgrade of traction power equipment and train control systems
• Installation of a new fiber optic communication network.

The first two stations to be rebuilt—Kedzie and Rockwell—reopened on 16 August 2006. The project is scheduled for completion in 2009 and is expected to cost $530 million. [1]

Brown Line (Ravenswood branch)
Station	Location	Points of interest & Notes
Kimball	4755 N. Kimball Avenue	North Park University
Kedzie	4648 N. Kedzie Avenue
Francisco	4648 N. Francisco Avenue
Rockwell	4648 N. Rockwell Street
Western	4648 N. Western Avenue	Lincoln Square, Chicago
Damen	4645 N. Damen Avenue	Closed on Monday, November 26, 2007 for one year for rebuilding.
Montrose	1814 W. Montrose Avenue
Irving Park	1816 W. Irving Park Road	Closed on December 3, 2007 for one year for rebuilding.
Addison	1818 W. Addison Street
Paulina	3411 N. Paulina Street	Roscoe Village
Southport	3411 N. Southport Avenue	Music Box Theatre Closed until April 2008 for rebuilding
Belmont	945 W. Belmont Avenue	Lakeview, Briar Street Theatre Transfer station for Red and Purple Lines
Wellington	945 W. Wellington Avenue	Illinois Masonic Medical Center
Diversey	940 W. Diversey Avenue	Lincoln Park Closed on June 25, 2007 until June 2008 for rebuilding
Fullerton	943 W. Fullerton Avenue	Lincoln Park, DePaul University Transfer station for Red and Purple Lines
Armitage	944 W. Armitage Avenue	Goose Island Brewery
Sedgwick	1536 N. Sedgwick Street	The Second City, Piper's Alley, Old Town Ale House, Old Town
Chicago	300 W. Chicago Avenue	Moody Bible Institute, River North Gallery District
Merchandise Mart	350 N. Wells Street	Chicago Merchandise Mart Transfer station for Purple Line
Washington/Wells	100 N. Wells Street	Chicago City Hall, Civic Opera House, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Ogilvie Transportation Center Transfer station for Orange Line
Quincy	220 S. Wells Street	Sears Tower, Union Station Transfer station for Metra and Amtrak trains
LaSalle/Van Buren	121 W. Van Buren Street	Chicago Board of Trade, Chicago Board Options Exchange Transfer station for Metra trains
Library-State/Van Buren	26 W. Van Buren Street	Harold Washington Library Transfer station for Blue and Red Lines.
Adams/Wabash	201 S. Wabash Avenue	Grant Park, Petrillo Music Shell, Buckingham Fountain, Art Institute of Chicago Transfer station for Orange and Green Lines
Madison/Wabash	2 N. Wabash Avenue	Jewelers Row
Randolph/Wabash	151 N. Wabash Avenue	Marshall Field's, Chicago Cultural Center, Millennium Park Transfer station for Metra trains and South Shore Line
State/Lake	200 N. State Street	Chicago Theatre, Gene Siskel Film Center Transfer station for Red Line
Clark/Lake	100 W. Lake Street, Chicago	James R. Thompson Center, Richard J. Daley Center Transfer station for Green, Orange Pink Line, Purple Line (weekday rush hour periods only) , and Blue Lines

At Clark/Lake, Brown Line trains head back to Merchandise Mart, then make all stops in reverse to Kimball.

• Chicago 'L'
• List of Chicago El stations

• Brown Line at Chicago-'L'.org
• Train schedules at CTA official site

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