Tara Ripperda, a 27-year-old from Lakeview, needs to find a better way to get to her job downtown. On Monday, in an attempt to avoid delays on the northern part of the Brown Line, the ad production coordinator hopped on the Red Line first, switched to Brown and was 15 minutes late to work.
She wasn’t the only one running behind Monday, as rush-hour commuters adjusted to a reduced Brown Line schedule caused by a weekend fire that damaged a substation on the line.
“Everyone was on their phones, saying, ‘I’m late, I’m late,’ ” Ripperda said.
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For the next two weeks, Brown Line trains north of Belmont will run half as often at rush hour as CTA workers repair the substation, which provides power to the line. From 7 a.m. to
9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., trains will run every six minutes instead of every three minutes between Belmont and Kimball, forcing more people to crowd into full trains and leaving some behind to wait for the next one.
The cause of the fire has not been determined, said Robyn Ziegler (the name as published has been corrected here and in subsequent references in this text), a CTA spokeswoman.
In the meantime, the CTA is providing shuttle buses between the Belmont and Kimball stops during peak hours in the direction of rush-hour traffic, and extra CTA staff members are on hand downtown and at the affected stations to help commuters, Ziegler said. Employees were handing out informational fliers at “L” stops Monday that apologized and explained the situation.
Monday’s afternoon rush hour seemed to run smoothly, and many commuters said they already had heard about the delays from television news or newspapers. At 5:30 p.m., a gaggle of CTA workers, difficult to miss in neon yellow vests, seemed to equal the number of commuters at the Belmont stop.
“There’s tons of signs and people in uniform,” said Jason Hernandez, a 24-year-old waiter and student from Old Town who boarded a train at State and Lake Streets.
The CTA says riders should check each train’s destination sign before boarding during the evening rush hour because not all Brown Line trains will be traveling all the way to Kimball. Half of the trains will go only as far as the Belmont stop. The CTA also encourages passengers to use the Purple Line, which includes Belmont among its express stops.
The Brown Line is one of the CTA’s oldest train lines, built in 1907. The damaged power station, at 4650 N. Lincoln Ave., was built in 1913.
Even before the recent delays, the Brown Line, which carries about 50,000 riders a day, has been a source of headaches for some commuters. The Campaign for Better Transit, a local advocacy group, says the Brown Line is the most overcrowded “L” line, because most stations can accommodate only six-car trains instead of eight-car trains.
A major renovation project on the line is scheduled to begin later this year that will help “bring the whole system up to a state of good repair,” Ziegler said. The project will expand capacity and improve access to Brown Line stations.
“I’m glad I live south of Belmont,” said Jennifer Lindsay, 21, as she waited Monday afternoon for a Brown Line train in the Loop. “It’s a hassle commuting anyway.”
– – –
Daily ridership
Average number of weekday riders
(for December 2003)
Red Line
176,927
Blue Line
110,367
Loop elevated
51,887
Brown Line
41,457
Green Line
28,241
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Orange Line
27,209
Purple Line
8,656
Yellow Line
1,956
NOTE: Loop Elevated is made up of several ‘l’ lines.
Source: CTA