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118-751: The Metropolitan main line was a rapid transit line of the Chicago "L" system from 1895 to 1958. It ran west from downtown to a junction at Marshfield station . At this point the Garfield Park branch continued westward, while the Douglas Park branch turned south, and the Logan Square branch turned north with the Humboldt Park branch branching from it. In addition to serving the Chicago "L", its tracks and those of

236-465: A 1918 influenza outbreak, a prohibition that has remained in force ever since. Nevertheless, the CA&;E still allowed smoking as late as 1948, splitting its cars into smoking and non-smoking components. In the last year of the three-branch model, 1950, Canal served 2,089,044 riders, making it the 14th-busiest of 123 "L" stations and the busiest in the former Metropolitan division. After the construction of

354-621: A 50-year franchise by the Chicago City Council on April 7, 1892, and began securing right of way shortly thereafter. As designed, the Metropolitan's operations comprised a main line that went westward from downtown to diverge into three branches – one northwest to Logan Square , one due west to Garfield Park , and one southwest to Douglas Park  – and serve various parts of Chicago's west side. A further branch to Humboldt Park would proceed due west from

472-425: A body of water), which are potential congestion sites but also offer an opportunity for transfers between lines. Ring lines provide good coverage, connect between the radial lines and serve tangential trips that would otherwise need to cross the typically congested core of the network. A rough grid pattern can offer a wide variety of routes while still maintaining reasonable speed and frequency of service. A study of

590-554: A boulevard from Grant Park to Halsted Street . The plan, which did not incorporate rapid transit into the boulevard plan, did not ultimately materialize, but provided inspiration to planners in subsequent decades. Traffic congestion was dire in cities such as Chicago by the 1920s and 1930s, especially on its west side, and superhighways were designed to alleviate it. Such highways were also designed to clear neighborhoods that were considered blighted slums. The Old Chicago Main Post Office

708-450: A code for its stations. Unlike that of Singapore's MRT, it is mostly numbers. Based on the line number, for example Sinyongsan station, is coded as station 429. Being on Line 4, the first number of the station code is 4. The last two numbers are the station number on that line. Interchange stations can have multiple codes. Like City Hall station in Seoul which is served by Line 1 and Line 2. It has

826-646: A code of 132 and 201 respectively. The Line 2 is a circle line and the first stop is City Hall, therefore, City Hall has the station code of 201. For lines without a number like Bundang line it will have an alphanumeric code. Lines without a number that are operated by KORAIL will start with the letter 'K'. With widespread use of the Internet and cell phones globally, transit operators now use these technologies to present information to their users. In addition to online maps and timetables, some transit operators now offer real-time information which allows passengers to know when

944-648: A common management in 1913, and were formally merged in 1924 under the Chicago Rapid Transit Company . At that point, the former Metropolitan's operations became part of the Metropolitan Division of the CRT. The publicly owned CTA replaced the CRT, which had proven chronically unprofitable, in 1947, having been chartered for the purpose by the Illinois General Assembly in 1945. By this time,

1062-565: A conventional track is often provided in case of flat tires and for switching . There are also some rubber-tired systems that use a central guide rail , such as the Sapporo Municipal Subway and the NeoVal system in Rennes , France. Advocates of this system note that it is much quieter than conventional steel-wheeled trains, and allows for greater inclines given the increased traction of

1180-405: A dedicated right-of-way are typically used only outside dense areas, since they create a physical barrier in the urban fabric that hinders the flow of people and vehicles across their path and have a larger physical footprint. This method of construction is the cheapest as long as land values are low. It is often used for new systems in areas that are planned to fill up with buildings after the line

1298-458: A firefighter, was such that trains were blocked from reaching the Canal station or points beyond for the next several days due to the warping of the tracks. The fire necessitated a rebuild of the station. Union Station was rebuilt in 1925, and the new station was located closer to Canal, one block away. It included a transfer point to the Canal station. The Aurora Elgin and Chicago Railway (AE&C)

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1416-418: A large number of factors, including geographical barriers, existing or expected travel patterns, construction costs, politics, and historical constraints. A transit system is expected to serve an area of land with a set of lines , which consist of shapes summarized as "I", "L", "U", "S", and "O" shapes or loops. Geographical barriers may cause chokepoints where transit lines must converge (for example, to cross

1534-629: A large part of the network, for example, in outer suburbs, runs at ground level. In most of Britain , a subway is a pedestrian underpass . The terms Underground and Tube are used for the London Underground . The North East England Tyne and Wear Metro , mostly overground, is known as the Metro . In Scotland , the Glasgow Subway underground rapid transit system is known as the Subway . In Ireland ,

1652-452: A line is obtained by multiplying the car capacity, the train length, and the service frequency . Heavy rapid transit trains might have six to twelve cars, while lighter systems may use four or fewer. Cars have a capacity of 100 to 150 passengers, varying with the seated to standing ratio  – more standing gives higher capacity. The minimum time interval between trains is shorter for rapid transit than for mainline railways owing to

1770-602: A metro. In Spain, such systems are present in Madrid , Barcelona , Bilbao and Valencia . In Portugal, Lisbon has a metro. The Italian cities of Catania , Genoa , Milan , Naples , Rome and Turin also have metro lines. In Germany and Austria they rapid transit is known as U-Bahn , which are often supported by S-Bahn systems. In Germany, U-Bahn systems exist in Berlin , Hamburg , Munich and Nuremberg , while in Austria such

1888-654: A rapid transit setting. Canal station (CTA Metropolitan Main Line) Canal was a rapid transit station located on the Metropolitan main line of the Chicago "L" that was in service from 1895 to 1958, when the entire main line was replaced by the Congress Line located in the median of the nearby Eisenhower Expressway . Starting in 1927, the interurban Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad (CA&E) also served

2006-453: A special fare collection area. As originally opened, the Metropolitan's trains ran every six minutes between 6 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., and every ten minutes during the night; the average speed was 16 mph (26 km/h). By 1898, this schedule was updated so that trains ran at 30-minute intervals on each branch, or 7.5 minutes on the main line. Trains running the Westchester branch , which

2124-558: A specialized transit police may be established. These security measures are normally integrated with measures to protect revenue by checking that passengers are not travelling without paying. Some subway systems, such as the Beijing Subway , which is ranked by Worldwide Rapid Transit Data as the "World's Safest Rapid Transit Network" in 2015, incorporates airport-style security checkpoints at every station. Rapid transit systems have been subject to terrorism with many casualties, such as

2242-617: A specially dedicated elevator for caskets to load onto the funeral trains. The service declined and was discontinued in the 1930s, but the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)'s charter continues to allow it to run funeral trains. In 1950, 6000-series cars were assigned to the Logan Square branch, which were rerouted through the Dearborn Street Subway after 1951. The Douglas branch received 6000-series cars in 1952, and both

2360-481: A station on Clinton Street near where Canal had stood. The Metropolitan boasted of providing water closets, water fountains, newsstands, and waiting rooms at its stations, which also included racks for bicycles, staff to announce those in waiting rooms of approaching trains, and space for baby carriages. Unlike elsewhere on the "L", the Metropolitan's station houses had central heating and basements. The station had two island platforms . The original station house

2478-592: A system exists in Vienna . In addition, the small, car-free town of Serfaus in the Austrian state of Tyrol also features a short U-Bahn line. There are no U-Bahn systems in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, but the city of Lausanne has its own, small metro system. In Zurich, Switzerland's largest city, a project for a U-Bahn network was stopped by a referendum in the 1970s and instead its S-Bahn system

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2596-770: Is a shortened reference to a metropolitan area . Rapid transit systems such as the Washington Metrorail , Los Angeles Metro Rail , the Miami Metrorail , and the Montreal Metro are generally called the Metro . In Philadelphia , the term "El" is used for the Market–Frankford Line which runs mostly on an elevated track, while the term "subway" applies to the Broad Street Line which is almost entirely underground. Chicago 's commuter rail system that serves

2714-608: Is a single corporate image for the entire transit authority, but the rapid transit uses its own logo that fits into the profile. A transit map is a topological map or schematic diagram used to show the routes and stations in a public transport system. The main components are color-coded lines to indicate each line or service, with named icons to indicate stations. Maps may show only rapid transit or also include other modes of public transport. Transit maps can be found in transit vehicles, on platforms , elsewhere in stations, and in printed timetables . Maps help users understand

2832-506: Is built. Most rapid transit trains are electric multiple units with lengths from three to over ten cars. Crew sizes have decreased throughout history, with some modern systems now running completely unstaffed trains. Other trains continue to have drivers, even if their only role in normal operation is to open and close the doors of the trains at stations. Power is commonly delivered by a third rail or by overhead wires . The whole London Underground network uses fourth rail and others use

2950-416: Is necessary, rolling stock with a smaller loading gauge from one sub network may be transported along other lines that use larger trains. On some networks such operations are part of normal services. Most rapid transit systems use conventional standard gauge railway track . Since tracks in subway tunnels are not exposed to rain , snow , or other forms of precipitation , they are often fixed directly to

3068-548: Is referred to simply as "the subway", despite 40% of the system running above ground. The term "L" or "El" is not used for elevated lines in general as the lines in the system are already designated with letters and numbers. The "L" train or L (New York City Subway service) refers specifically to the 14th Street–Canarsie Local line, and not other elevated trains. Similarly, the Toronto Subway is referred to as "the subway", with some of its system also running above ground. These are

3186-412: Is serviced by at least one specific route with trains stopping at all or some of the line's stations. Most systems operate several routes, and distinguish them by colors, names, numbering, or a combination thereof. Some lines may share track with each other for a portion of their route or operate solely on their own right-of-way. Often a line running through the city center forks into two or more branches in

3304-733: Is the most commonly used term for underground rapid transit systems used by non-native English speakers. Rapid transit systems may be named after the medium by which passengers travel in busy central business districts ; the use of tunnels inspires names such as subway , underground , Untergrundbahn ( U-Bahn ) in German, or the Tunnelbana (T-bana) in Swedish. The use of viaducts inspires names such as elevated ( L or el ), skytrain , overhead , overground or Hochbahn in German. One of these terms may apply to an entire system, even if

3422-460: The Chicago City Council formally adopted the route on October 31, 1940. In October 1939 it was still planned to have the Congress street extension of the Dearborn Street Subway connect with the elevated structure at Halsted, but it eventually became inevitable that a superhighway plan would necessitate the removal of the main line and Garfield Park branch. World War II interrupted plans to construct

3540-408: The Chicago Rapid Transit Company (CRT) in 1924. The "L" was taken over by the publicly-held Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) in 1947. Substantial revisions to the lines that had been constructed by the Metropolitan had been planned since the 1930s; all told, they would replace the Logan Square branch with a subway to go directly downtown and substitute a rapid transit right of way in the median of

3658-605: The Dublin Area Rapid Transit is despite the name considered a commuter rail due to usage of mainline railways. In France, large cities, such as Paris , Marseille and Lyon , feature a Métro . Also the smaller cities of Lille Rennes have a light metro. Furthermore, Brussels in Belgium, and Amsterdam and Rotterdam in the Netherlands have metro systems in place. Several Southern European contries also have

Metropolitan main line - Misplaced Pages Continue

3776-724: The Hudson and Manhattan Railroad K-series cars from 1958, the New York City Subway R38 and R42 cars from the late-1960s, and the Nagoya Municipal Subway 3000 series , Osaka Municipal Subway 10 series and MTR M-Train EMUs from the 1970s, were generally only made possible largely due to the relatively generous loading gauges of these systems and also adequate open-air sections to dissipate hot air from these air conditioning units. Especially in some rapid transit systems such as

3894-429: The London Underground . In 1868, New York opened the elevated West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway , initially a cable-hauled line using stationary steam engines . As of 2021 , China has the largest number of rapid transit systems in the world  – 40 in number, running on over 4,500 km (2,800 mi) of track – and was responsible for most of the world's rapid-transit expansion in

4012-722: The Metropolitan Railway opened publicly in London in 1863. High capacity monorails with larger and longer trains can be classified as rapid transit systems. Such monorail systems recently started operating in Chongqing and São Paulo . Light metro is a subclass of rapid transit that has the speed and grade separation of a "full metro" but is designed for smaller passenger numbers. It often has smaller loading gauges, lighter train cars and smaller consists of typically two to four cars. Light metros are typically used as feeder lines into

4130-578: The Montreal Metro (opened 1966) and Sapporo Municipal Subway (opened 1971), their entirely enclosed nature due to their use of rubber-tyred technology to cope with heavy snowfall experienced by both cities in winter precludes any air-conditioning retrofits of rolling stock due to the risk of heating the tunnels to temperatures that would be too hot for passengers and for train operations. In many cities, metro networks consist of lines operating different sizes and types of vehicles. Although these sub-networks may not often be connected by track, in cases when it

4248-577: The Prague Metro . The London Underground and Paris Métro are densely built systems with a matrix of crisscrossing lines throughout the cities. The Chicago 'L' has most of its lines converging on The Loop , the main business, financial, and cultural area. Some systems have a circular line around the city center connecting to radially arranged outward lines, such as the Moscow Metro 's Koltsevaya Line and Beijing Subway 's Line 10 . The capacity of

4366-656: The Singapore MRT , Changi Airport MRT station has the alphanumeric code CG2, indicating its position as the 2nd station on the Changi Airport branch of the East West Line. Interchange stations have at least two codes, for example, Raffles Place MRT station has two codes, NS26 and EW14, the 26th station on the North South Line and the 14th station on the East West Line. The Seoul Metro is another example that utilizes

4484-450: The deep tube lines . Historically, rapid transit trains used ceiling fans and openable windows to provide fresh air and piston-effect wind cooling to riders. From the 1950s to the 1990s (and in most of Europe until the 2000s), many rapid transit trains from that era were also fitted with forced-air ventilation systems in carriage ceiling units for passenger comfort. Early rapid transit rolling stock fitted with air conditioning , such as

4602-409: The linear motor for propulsion. Some urban rail lines are built to a loading gauge as large as that of main-line railways ; others are built to a smaller one and have tunnels that restrict the size and sometimes the shape of the train compartments. One example is most of the London Underground , which has acquired the informal term "tube train" due to the cylindrical shape of the trains used on

4720-548: The "Eisenhower", following the route of Congress Street, had been proposed since the 1909 Plan of Chicago and more thoroughly planned in the early 1930s. A 1939 plan introduced the idea of replacing the main line and Garfield Park branch with a line of rapid transit running through this highway. Construction on the expressway and the "Congress Line" was adopted by the City Council in 1940 and formally authorized for construction in 1946. Three different agreements were made between

4838-511: The "L" until October 1, 1947. Union Station had been built in 1888 and was located on the Chicago River a few blocks from Canal. The station was consequently often used as a gateway to go to the west side for people leaving Union Station. Ridership was such that a second entrance was added onto Clinton Street in 1914. The Canal station and its surroundings were destroyed by a fire in the early morning of March 15, 1922. The fire, which killed

Metropolitan main line - Misplaced Pages Continue

4956-503: The "frustration walk" for commuters, although it was considered one of the few good areas for railfans to see trains at Union Station at the time. There were two connections between the walkway and the "L" station; patrons coming from the "L" would use the station house, whereas those coming from Union Station were led directly to the "L" platforms through a covered walkway from Track 2 of the Union Station trainshed after going through

5074-432: The 15 world largest subway systems suggested a universal shape composed of a dense core with branches radiating from it. Rapid transit operators have often built up strong brands , often focused on easy recognition – to allow quick identification even in the vast array of signage found in large cities – combined with the desire to communicate speed, safety, and authority. In many cities, there

5192-480: The 1995 Tokyo subway sarin gas attack and the 2005 " 7/7 " terrorist bombings on the London Underground. Some rapid transport trains have extra features such as wall sockets, cellular reception, typically using a leaky feeder in tunnels and DAS antennas in stations, as well as Wi-Fi connectivity. The first metro system in the world to enable full mobile phone reception in underground stations and tunnels

5310-598: The 2010s. The world's longest single-operator rapid transit system by route length is the Shanghai Metro . The world's largest single rapid transit service provider by number of stations (472 stations in total) is the New York City Subway . The busiest rapid transit systems in the world by annual ridership are the Shanghai Metro, Tokyo subway system , Seoul Metro and the Moscow Metro . The term Metro

5428-528: The 21st century, most new expansions and systems are located in Asia, with China becoming the world's leader in metro expansion, operating some of the largest and busiest systems while possessing almost 60 cities that are operating, constructing or planning a rapid transit system . Rapid transit is used for local transport in cities , agglomerations , and metropolitan areas to transport large numbers of people often short distances at high frequency . The extent of

5546-604: The CTA, Chicago, Cook County, and Illinois between 1951 and 1954 concerning the financing and ownership of the new construction, which soon commenced. A separate but related project, the Milwaukee–Dearborn subway , opened on February 25, 1951, rerouting Logan Square and Humboldt Park trains from Canal. Changes were made to the Garfield Park and Douglas Park lines on December 9, 1951. Several stations were closed, including Laflin on

5664-479: The Congress Street branch, a project to include rapid transit in the median of the Congress Street superhighway to replace the main line and Garfield Park branch, was underway, and the CTA entered negotiations regarding its construction. The main line was an extremely busy place in the late 1940s and early 1950s; in 1948, several trains on each track were within eyesight of one another during rush hours . The line

5782-520: The Congress Superhighway for the main line and Garfield Park branch. This was largely complete by the 1958 opening of the Congress Line, which includes a station on Clinton Street near the site of Canal. Canal was located on the four-track main line and had two island platforms in common with other stations on the main line. The Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad Company was granted

5900-520: The Dearborn Street Subway; although the federal government allowed the continued construction of the State Street Subway, it did not do so for the Dearborn Street Subway. After the City Council designated the Congress street subway an official project of the city on June 13, 1945, it formally authorized its construction on December 30, 1946. Various negotiations between the City, the CTA, Cook County , and

6018-536: The Douglas branch and Garfield Line received 4000-series cars in 1955, at which point wooden cars were retired from the Garfield Line but kept on the Douglas branch, although by 1957 they had been retired there as well. The stations on the main line originally consisted of two island platforms with each in between an outer track and an inner track. The sharpness of the curves of the outer tracks' bowing out to accommodate

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6136-449: The Garfield Park "L" trackage was replaced by temporary street-level ("at-grade") tracks between Sacramento Boulevard and Aberdeen Street, essentially removing all stops between Kedzie on the branch and Halsted on the main line. This change impacted westbound trains on September 20, 1953, and eastbound trains on September 27. The CA&E, having long struggled financially, refused to use the at-grade tracks due to safety concerns as well as

6254-567: The Garfield Park branch also carried the Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad , an interurban that served Chicago's western suburbs, between 1905 and 1953. The main line and its associated branches were originally operated by the Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad , one of four companies that built what would become the Chicago "L". After the four companies were merged into the Chicago Rapid Transit Company (CRT),

6372-650: The Garfield Park branch's Laramie station. In 1912, Fifth Avenue was renamed back to its original Wells Street , and so was the terminal. In 1923, the AE&;C reorganized as the Chicago Aurora & Elgin Railroad (CA&E). The Metropolitan was one of four companies operating the modern-day Chicago "L" in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, alongside the South Side Elevated, Lake Street Elevated, and Northwestern Elevated Railroad . The four lines were brought under

6490-473: The Logan Square branch just past Robey Street. Unlike the competing South Side and Lake Street Elevateds , the Metropolitan never used steam traction. Although it had originally intended to, and indeed had built much of its structure under the assumption that locomotives would be used, it decided in May 1894 to have electrified tracks instead. making it upon its opening the first revenue electric elevated railroad in

6608-405: The Logan Square branch past Robey Street. Originally intending for its railroad to be powered by steam locomotives like the competing South Side and Lake Street Elevateds , the Metropolitan decided in May 1894 to use electric traction instead; the tracks had already been largely constructed prior to the decision to electrify them, but retrofitting the third rail proved an easy task outside of

6726-533: The Loop. This continued until a new terminal on Fifth Avenue  – renamed "Wells Street" in 1912 – was constructed to handle overflow traffic in 1904. The Metropolitan's lines were originally operated by the West Side Construction Company, which had been responsible for constructing them, and were transferred to the Metropolitan on October 6, 1896. The backers and officers of

6844-576: The Metropolitan was forced to trim its downtown right of way back one block to Franklin Street due to acquisition costs. Even on opening day, work on the bridge crossing the Chicago River was not yet done, so trains terminated at Canal until the Franklin Street Terminal was ready on May 17. The Loop , an elevated rail trackage to be used as a common downtown terminal between all "L" companies,

6962-449: The Metropolitan's former holdings became known as the "Metropolitan Division" of the CRT. This arrangement continued until the Chicago "L" was brought under municipal control with the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) in 1947. The main line had a total of seven stations – Wells Street Terminal , Franklin/Van Buren , Canal , Halsted , Racine , Laflin , and Marshfield  – between 1904 and 1951, in addition to

7080-512: The United States. This made it the first rapid transit in the United States to use electric motors for revenue service. In order to provide power for the line, a shop at Loomis Street was built in the middle of the Metropolitan's main line, which continued to operate until 1914. After 1914, the Metropolitan purchased electricity from Commonwealth Edison , but the Loomis shop would remain standing until

7198-699: The Wells Street Terminal closed in 1955; trains on the line entered the Loop from a specially constructed track just south of Quincy station after this point. The Garfield Line closed on June 22, 1958, upon the opening of the Congress branch . The Congress branch was noted as the world's first rapid transit in the median of an expressway, a claim that it disputes with the Cahuenga Parkway in Los Angeles. The Congress branch's time between Forest Park and downtown

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7316-428: The beginning of rapid transit. Initial experiences with steam engines, despite ventilation, were unpleasant. Experiments with pneumatic railways failed in their extended adoption by cities. In 1890, the City & South London Railway was the first electric-traction rapid transit railway, which was also fully underground. Prior to opening, the line was to be called the "City and South London Subway", thus introducing

7434-445: The busiest in the former Metropolitan division outside of the new Dearborn subway. The station's 1957 performance was a 10.19 percent decline from the 1956 figure of 1,339,873 riders, when it had been the 19th-busiest of 134 stations. For the part of 1958 it was open, the station served 509,669 riders, being the 68th-busiest out of 138 "L" stations open during at least part of that year. The new Clinton station picked up 581,012 patrons for

7552-445: The companies were formally merged into the single Chicago Rapid Transit Company (CRT), which assumed operations on January 9, 1924; the former Metropolitan was designated the Metropolitan Division of the CRT for administrative purposes. Although municipal ownership of transit had been a hotly-contested issue for half a century , the publicly-owned Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) would not be created until 1945, or assume operation of

7670-416: The construction of the Congress street expressway. The main line opened on May 6, 1895; trains initially ran from Canal to Marshfield. The Franklin Street Terminal opened on May 13, extending the line eastward across the Chicago River . The river crossing made the Metropolitan the only "L" to own and operate its own drawbridge, in contrast to other "L"s using street bridges to cross the river. This terminal

7788-409: The curves of the main line limited operation to as slow as 12 mph (19 km/h) around Canal. Nevertheless, CA&E took one minute to go from Wells Street to Canal. Unlike the Lake Street Elevated, which operated smoking cars at some times but not at others, all of the Metropolitan's motor cars allowed smoking . Smoking was banned by the city across the "L" and in streetcars in response to

7906-414: The display of the transit network. Often this has the effect of compressing the distance between stations in the outer area of the system, and expanding distances between those close to the center. Some systems assign unique alphanumeric codes to each of their stations to help commuters identify them, which briefly encodes information about the line it is on, and its position on the line. For example, on

8024-434: The entire metropolitan area is called Metra (short for Met ropolitan Ra il), while its rapid transit system that serves the city is called the "L" . Boston's subway system is known locally as "The T". In Atlanta , the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority goes by the acronym "MARTA." In the San Francisco Bay Area , residents refer to Bay Area Rapid Transit by its acronym "BART". The New York City Subway

8142-433: The facilities, and agreed to demolish the elevated structures at its own expense. The Dearborn Street Subway opened on February 25, 1951, and the Logan Square branch was routed through it. As the connection between its terminal at LaSalle and the Congress Street expressway had not yet been constructed, its trains were forced to turn around at LaSalle. The Douglas Park and Garfield Park branches continued to go downtown through

8260-402: The floor rather than resting on ballast , such as normal railway tracks. An alternate technology, using rubber tires on narrow concrete or steel roll ways , was pioneered on certain lines of the Paris Métro and Mexico City Metro , and the first completely new system to use it was in Montreal , Canada. On most of these networks, additional horizontal wheels are required for guidance, and

8378-439: The interconnections between different parts of the system; for example, they show the interchange stations where passengers can transfer between lines. Unlike conventional maps, transit maps are usually not geographically accurate, but emphasize the topological connections among the different stations. The graphic presentation may use straight lines and fixed angles, and often a fixed minimum distance between stations, to simplify

8496-563: The introduction of skip-stop coincided with the mass closure of lightly used stations, the other stations remained open in anticipation of their demolition. Starting on September 20, 1953, the Garfield Line was rerouted onto temporary street-level trackage between Sacramento and Aberdeen Avenue. The difficulties resulting from this construction activity caused the CA&E to cease operations east of Desplaines, requiring its passengers to transfer to CTA trains at Desplaines. The CA&E would shut down altogether on July 3, 1957. This also resulted in

8614-587: The lines of the Lyon Metro includes a section of rack (cog) railway , while the Carmelit , in Haifa, is an underground funicular . For elevated lines, another alternative is the monorail , which can be built either as straddle-beam monorails or as a suspended monorail . While monorails have never gained wide acceptance outside Japan, there are some such as Chongqing Rail Transit 's monorail lines which are widely used in

8732-565: The main line in favor of the Paulina Connector to get downtown on April 4, 1954. This left Garfield Park trains as the only traffic remaining at Canal. In an unrelated project, Market Street was being widened into the southern leg of Wacker Drive on the riverbank opposite Canal; this required that the Market Street Junction switching trains between the Loop and the Wells Street Terminal be removed. The crossings were removed in

8850-484: The main line, and the Congress branch would be finished in 1958 in the median of the Eisenhower Expressway to replace the Garfield Line, which was demolished to make way for them. The Congress branch contained stations designed to replace those on the Garfield Line. Both the Dearborn Street Subway and Congress branch are parts of the modern-day Blue Line . The Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad Company

8968-495: The main line. Skip-stop , wherein trains were designated either as "A" trains or "B" trains and stopped at respective "A" or "B" stations, was applied during weekdays to the surviving stations; Canal was designated an "all-stop" station under this scheme and was thus unaffected. "L" service to the Wells Street Terminal was also discontinued, meaning that only CA&E trains served it from then on. More changes came in September 1953;

9086-467: The main line. After this point, the main line and Garfield Park branch were formally merged into a single line known as the "Garfield Park Line" or "Garfield Line". Skip-stop service was implemented on the Garfield Line during rush-hour service starting on December 9, 1951. Laflin was closed on that date, but in contrast to other lines such as the Lake Street Elevated and North-South route where

9204-545: The main rapid transit system. For instance, the Wenhu Line of the Taipei Metro serves many relatively sparse neighbourhoods and feeds into and complements the high capacity metro lines. Some systems have been built from scratch, others are reclaimed from former commuter rail or suburban tramway systems that have been upgraded, and often supplemented with an underground or elevated downtown section. Ground-level alignments with

9322-455: The motorman was unable to see out of that side, the conductor was also needed to signal the end of the boarding process using the train's buzzer. Lest it compete with the "L" directly, CA&E passengers were not allowed to board eastbound trains at Canal, nor were westbound passengers allowed to alight at stations within the "L" 's area of service. CA&E trains were limited to 45 mph (72 km/h) on "L" tracks, although in practice

9440-418: The network map "readable" by illiterate people, this system has since become an "icon" of the system. Compared to other modes of transport, rapid transit has a good safety record, with few accidents. Rail transport is subject to strict safety regulations , with requirements for procedure and maintenance to minimize risk. Head-on collisions are rare due to use of double track, and low operating speeds reduce

9558-402: The next vehicle will arrive, and expected travel times. The standardized GTFS data format for transit information allows many third-party software developers to produce web and smartphone app programs which give passengers customized updates regarding specific transit lines and stations of interest. Mexico City Metro uses a unique pictogram for each station. Originally intended to help make

9676-949: The occurrence and severity of rear-end collisions and derailments . Fire is more of a danger underground, such as the King's Cross fire in London in November 1987, which killed 31 people. Systems are generally built to allow evacuation of trains at many places throughout the system. High platforms , usually over 1 meter / 3 feet, are a safety risk, as people falling onto the tracks have trouble climbing back. Platform screen doors are used on some systems to eliminate this danger. Rapid transit facilities are public spaces and may suffer from security problems: petty crimes , such as pickpocketing and baggage theft, and more serious violent crimes , as well as sexual assaults on tightly packed trains and platforms. Security measures include video surveillance , security guards , and conductors . In some countries

9794-588: The only two North American systems that are primarily called "subways". In most of Southeast Asia and in Taiwan , rapid transit systems are primarily known by the acronym MRT . The meaning varies from one country to another. In Indonesia , the acronym stands for Moda Raya Terpadu or Integrated Mass [Transit] Mode in English. In the Philippines , it stands for Metro Rail Transit . Two underground lines use

9912-496: The other companies operating "L" lines in Chicago, became a part of the Chicago Elevated Railways (CER) trust on July 1, 1911. CER acted as a de facto holding company for the "L" – unifying its operations, instituting the same management across the companies, and instituting free transfers between the lines starting in 1913 – but kept the underlying companies intact. This continued until

10030-439: The outer tracks. At Marshfield, the northern platform and tracks were used for trains going to and coming from the Logan Square branch, whereas the southern platform and tracks were used for trains going to and coming from the Garfield Park and Douglas Park branches. A highway radiating west from downtown Chicago via Congress Street was proposed in the 1909 Plan of Chicago , which envisioned Congress as Chicago's "grand axis" and

10148-582: The outset. Budapest , Chicago , Glasgow , Boston and New York City all converted or purpose-designed and built electric rail services. Advancements in technology have allowed new automated services. Hybrid solutions have also evolved, such as tram-train and premetro , which incorporate some of the features of rapid transit systems. In response to cost, engineering considerations and topological challenges some cities have opted to construct tram systems, particularly those in Australia, where density in cities

10266-503: The platforms, however, was considered dangerous and some of the stations were reconfigured between 1898 and 1914. The results of these modifications varied widely by station; at Racine, it resulted in two pairs of side platforms for the northern and southern pairs of tracks, separated from one another by the Throop Street Shop, while at Halsted an island platform was placed in between the two inner tracks with two side platforms each for

10384-477: The prospect of delays caused by the use of traffic signals at road crossings, and had serious doubts about its ability to reroute its right of way into the new expressway median. Despite some speculative plans for alternative train service to downtown Chicago, and after being disallowed by state regulators to abandon rail service altogether in favor of buses, the CA&E ultimately abandoned service east of Des Plaines on September 20. Douglas Park trains stopped using

10502-908: The rapid transit system varies greatly between cities, with several transport strategies. Some systems may extend only to the limits of the inner city, or to its inner ring of suburbs with trains making frequent station stops. The outer suburbs may then be reached by a separate commuter rail network where more widely spaced stations allow higher speeds. In some cases the differences between urban rapid transit and suburban systems are not clear. Rapid transit systems may be supplemented by other systems such as trolleybuses , regular buses , trams , or commuter rail. This combination of transit modes serves to offset certain limitations of rapid transit such as limited stops and long walking distances between outside access points. Bus or tram feeder systems transport people to rapid transit stops. Each rapid transit system consists of one or more lines , or circuits. Each line

10620-474: The respective outbound and inbound locals. 569 wooden cars were built for the Metropolitan's operations between 1894 and 1907, by the builders Pullman, Harlan & Hollingsworth, American Car & Foundry, Barney & Smith, and Jewett. In the early 20th century, the Metropolitan decided to offer funeral trains on its lines, entering into an agreement with the CA&E to carry such trains to Oak Ridge and Mount Carmel cemeteries. One funeral car

10738-466: The restriction of service of Racine and Marshfield to Douglas Park trains, and non-stop service between Kedzie and Halsted. It also led to the discontinuation of skip-stop service on the line, with all trains resuming making stops at all stations. Originally applying only to westbound trains, these changes applied to eastbound trains starting one week later. Racine and Marshfield both closed to Douglas Park trains in 1954. Franklin/Van Buren station and

10856-525: The rubber tires. However, they have higher maintenance costs and are less energy efficient. They also lose traction when weather conditions are wet or icy, preventing above-ground use of the Montréal Metro and limiting it on the Sapporo Municipal Subway, but not rubber-tired systems in other cities. Some cities with steep hills incorporate mountain railway technologies in their metros. One of

10974-495: The state of Illinois regarding the right-of-way of the project were conducted between 1951 and 1954. In the final settlement of those negotiations, the City assumed responsibility for the expressway and rapid transit facilities in between the Chicago River and Laramie Avenue; in exchange, the CTA granted the City and Cook County a permanent easement on the right-of-way of the Metropolitan main line and Garfield Park branch between Desplaines Street and Sacramento Boulevard to construct

11092-660: The station, continuing until 1953. The station connected with Chicago's Union Station , which was one of the city's rail terminals. One of the busiest stations on the Metropolitan's routes, and of the "L" in general, it opened a second entrance on Clinton Street in 1914. The Metropolitan operated a vast network of routes across Chicago's west side, including three branches – the Douglas Park , Garfield Park , and Logan Square branches  – diverging from its main line. It operated, with interruptions and financial issues, until it handed operations to Chicago Elevated Railways (CER) in 1911, and formally merged into

11210-541: The stations of the Loop also served by Metropolitan trains. After the Logan Square branch was rerouted through the newly constructed Dearborn Street Subway in 1951, the main line was merged with the Garfield Park branch and both collectively became known as the Garfield Park Line or Garfield Line . The Dearborn Subway was constructed from the late 1930s to 1951 to replace the Logan Square branch's entry into downtown via

11328-636: The suburbs, allowing a higher service frequency in the center. This arrangement is used by many systems, such as the Copenhagen Metro , the Milan Metro , the Oslo Metro , the Istanbul Metro and the New York City Subway . Alternatively, there may be a single central terminal (often shared with the central railway station), or multiple interchange stations between lines in the city center, for instance in

11446-415: The subway the following year, Canal's ridership declined to 1,816,228, its ranking declined to 21 out of 132, and it was surpassed on the former Metropolitan by the Logan Square terminal connected to the subway. After 1954, however, it would regain its lead over Logan Square. In the final full year of its operation, 1957, Canal served 1,203,404 passengers, making it the 23rd-busiest of 133 "L" stations and

11564-541: The summer of 1954 and all trains were routed through the southern two tracks between Halsted and the Loop. On October 11, 1955, this structure, including the Franklin/Van Buren station , was in turn closed as trains instead used the northern two tracks through the former Wells Street Terminal to directly join the Loop. This arrangement continued, with the southern tracks sitting abandoned, until Garfield Park service ended altogether on June 22, 1958. The new line contains

11682-505: The switches of the main line. The main line and Logan Square branch up to Robey had their tracks completed by the middle of October 1894 and were given power in April 1895 for test and inspection runs. They began service at 6 a.m. on Monday, May 6, 1895, between Robey and Canal. Upon its opening, the Metropolitan became the first revenue electric elevated railroad in the United States. Originally planning to terminate downtown at Fifth Avenue ,

11800-706: The term subway . In Thailand , it stands for Metropolitan Rapid Transit , previously using the Mass Rapid Transit name. Outside of Southeast Asia, Kaohsiung and Taoyuan, Taiwan , have their own MRT systems which stands for Mass Rapid Transit , as with Singapore and Malaysia . In general rapid transit is a synonym for "metro" type transit, though sometimes rapid transit is defined to include "metro", commuter trains and grade separated light rail . Also high-capacity bus-based transit systems can have features similar to "metro" systems. The opening of London's steam-hauled Metropolitan Railway in 1863 marked

11918-463: The term Subway into railway terminology. Both railways, alongside others, were eventually merged into London Underground . The 1893 Liverpool Overhead Railway was designed to use electric traction from the outset. The technology quickly spread to other cities in Europe , the United States, Argentina, and Canada, with some railways being converted from steam and others being designed to be electric from

12036-497: The terminal would be completed in 1904 to carry overfill from the Loop. The Metropolitan's franchise was amended on February 23, 1905, to allow for the carrying of surface railroads on its tracks. The Aurora Elgin & Chicago Railway (AE&C) began to use the Garfield Park branch and main line to access the Fifth Avenue terminal on March 11. The AE&C had been associated with the Metropolitan since 1902, when both railroads used

12154-511: The trains, requiring custom-made trains in order to minimize gaps between train and platform. They are typically integrated with other public transport and often operated by the same public transport authorities . Some rapid transit systems have at-grade intersections between a rapid transit line and a road or between two rapid transit lines. The world's first rapid transit system was the partially underground Metropolitan Railway which opened in 1863 using steam locomotives , and now forms part of

12272-467: The two companies were largely identical, however, so this transfer of ownership was nominal. The expenses incurred in constructing the Metropolitan's vast trackage would catch up to the company, which entered receivership in 1897; the similarly-named Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railway Company was organized in January 1899 and assumed operations on February 3 of that year. The Metropolitan, along with

12390-591: The use of communications-based train control : the minimum headway can reach 90 seconds, but many systems typically use 120 seconds to allow for recovery from delays. Typical capacity lines allow 1,200 people per train, giving 36,000 passengers per hour per direction . However, much higher capacities are attained in East Asia with ranges of 75,000 to 85,000 people per hour achieved by MTR Corporation 's urban lines in Hong Kong. Rapid transit topologies are determined by

12508-744: Was 17 minutes faster than the equivalent distance on the old Garfield Line. On the Congress branch, Halsted (now UIC-Halsted ) and Racine were explicitly designed to replace their respective stations on the Garfield Line. In addition, Illinois Medical District replaced three stations on the Garfield Line, including Marshfield, and Racine has an entrance on Loomis Street one block east of Laflin. Rapid transit Modern services on rapid transit systems are provided on designated lines between stations typically using electric multiple units on railway tracks . Some systems use guided rubber tires , magnetic levitation ( maglev ), or monorail . The stations typically have high platforms, without steps inside

12626-540: Was Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system, which launched its first underground mobile phone network using AMPS in 1989. Many metro systems, such as the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway (MTR) and the Berlin U-Bahn, provide mobile data connections in their tunnels for various network operators. The technology used for public, mass rapid transit has undergone significant changes in the years since

12744-419: Was a western extension of the Garfield Park branch opened in 1926, ran express from Canal on the main line to Laramie on the Garfield Park branch. The CA&E stopped at Canal to board westbound passengers and alight eastbound passengers; conductors checked the tickets of everyone who had boarded at the Wells Street Terminal at Canal as well. Passengers boarded westbound trains on the train's left side ; since

12862-483: Was an interurban that had been in service since August 25, 1902, and using the Metropolitan's Garfield Park branch, main line, and Wells Street Terminal since March 11, 1905. Bankrupt in the aftermath of World War I, it was reorganized into the Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad (CA&E) in 1921. Despite this usage, the CA&E did not begin stopping at Canal until the Union Station reconstruction on August 1, 1927. A superhighway that would become Interstate 290 or

12980-625: Was approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) in length between Market Junction and Marshfield Junction, and had multiple curves, such that the longest section of straight track was less than 0.5 miles (0.80 km) long. Trains often braked for curves which had speed restrictions of 15 mph (24 km/h) or less; signals were used in "blind curves" where following trains were unable to look ahead. The tracks were numbered 1 through 4 from north to south; tracks 1 and 3 were used for express operations for respective outbound and inbound trains that did not make stops during rush hours, while tracks 2 and 4 were for

13098-408: Was built specifically for the purpose, and another retrofitted after the concept proved successful. After the decline of the funeral car business, the retrofitted unit was converted once again, into a medical examining station. Arising and benefiting from the poor road conditions in Chicago's western suburbs, the service carried an average of 22 trains a week by October 1907. Laflin was rebuilt to have

13216-420: Was closed in 1897, as the line was routed to the Loop via Van Buren Street. The Loop would prove to be frequently over capacity, and the Metropolitan was forced to turn some downtown-bound trains back at Canal starting in 1900, constructing a special platform extension and track stub for the purpose. The Chicago City Council granted the Metropolitan permission to construct a terminal on Fifth Avenue in 1902, and

13334-619: Was destroyed by the 1922 fire; the rebuilt design was to an off-white terra cotta design in the Beaux-Arts style by transit architect Arthur U. Gerber . The rebuilt station did not, however, include any shelter on the westbound platform. The new station house had a stairway descending below to a walkway, which connected passengers to Union Station half a block away. This walkway was separated from Union Station's tracks and platforms by an iron fence, and directed patrons to Union Station's lobby. The circuitousness of this route led to its being dubbed

13452-845: Was developed further. Other Central European countries also have metro lines, for example in the cities of Budapest (Hungary), Prague (Czech Republic) and Warsaw (Poland). In Eastern Europe , metro systems are in operation in Minsk (Belarus), Kyiv (Ukraine) and Moscow (Russia). In Southeastern European countries, there are metro systems in Athens and Thessaloniki (Greece), Belgrade (Serbia), Sofia (Bulgaria) and Istanbul (Turkey). In Northern Europe , rapid transit systems exist in Copenhagen (Denmark), Oslo (Norway), Stockholm (Sweden) and Helsinki (Finland). Various terms are used for rapid transit systems around North America . The term metro

13570-506: Was granted a 50-year franchise by the Chicago City Council on April 7, 1892, and began securing right of way shortly thereafter. The Metropolitan's operations comprised a main line that went west from downtown to Marshfield , where three branches – one northwest to Logan Square , one due west to Garfield Park , and one southwest to Douglas Park  – diverged and served various parts of Chicago's west side. A further branch to Humboldt Park proceeded due west from

13688-490: Was greatly expanded in 1932; built in the way of the proposed superhighway, it was constructed with a hole in its bottom to allow for traffic to run through it, which would be used in when the expressway was completed. The first proposal to link a Congress highway with the "L" was made in 1939 as part of a grant agreement with the federal government in securing the funding for the State Street and Dearborn Street subways, and

13806-681: Was low and suburbs tended to spread out . Since the 1970s, the viability of underground train systems in Australian cities, particularly Sydney and Melbourne , has been reconsidered and proposed as a solution to over-capacity. Melbourne had tunnels and stations developed in the 1970s and opened in 1980. The first line of the Sydney Metro was opened in 2019. Since the 1960s, many new systems have been introduced in Europe , Asia and Latin America . In

13924-469: Was planned as early as 1894 and opened on October 11, 1897. The Metropolitan closed the Franklin Street Terminal and routed all its trains through the Loop. The Loop frequently overflowed during rush hours , however, so the Metropolitan soon started terminating some trains at Canal, using stub tracks to turn them back; these trains also benefited west side factory workers, who were not bound for

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