CTA’s rail system

Written By: Harry on June 18, 2009 No Comment

reposted from Chicago Tribune.

By Jon Hilkevitch, Tribune columnist; Alex Bordens, Keith Claxton and Chad Yoder, Tribune graphics

One out of three trips each day on the CTA is by train. Rail ridership is up 4.3 percent for the year through May, or 3.3 million more “L” and subway rides compared to the same five-month period in 2008. In May alone, rail ridership increased by 500,000 rides, or 2.7 percent, while bus ridership dipped 3.3 percent, a loss of 900,000 rides from May 2008.

The resurgence of mass transit is reflected in the growing trend of more people leaving their cars at home for commutes that aren’t going to work and back home. Trips using CTA trains on weekends and holidays shot up 9.2 percent last month compared to the same period a year ago. As every seasoned CTA rail customer knows, if you’ve seen one CTA train station, you’ve seen one CTA train station. The size of the station houses, the amenities, the state of repair and, of course, ridership levels, vary widely at the 144 stations served by eight rail lines.