'L' Train

Chicago "L"

A Pink Line train approaching Randolph/Wabash station
Overview
Locale	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Transit type	Rapid transit
Number of lines	8
Line number	Red Line      Orange Line      Yellow Line      Green Line      Blue Line      Purple Line      Brown Line      Pink Line
Number of stations	145
Daily ridership	767,730 (average weekday, 2015)
Annual ridership	238.36 million (2016)
Chief executive	Dorval R. Carter, Jr.
Headquarters	567 West Lake St. Chicago, Illinois
Website	Chicago Transit Authority
Operation
Began operation	June 6, 1892
Operator(s)	Chicago Transit Authority
Technical
System length	102.8 mi (165.4 km)
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Minimum radius of curvature	90 feet (27,432 mm)
Electrification	Third rail, 600 V DC
Top speed	55 mph (89 km/h)
System map

The Chicago "L" (short for "elevated") is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). It is the fourth-largest rapid transit system in the United States in terms of total route length, at 102.8 miles (165.4 km) long, and the second-busiest rail mass transit system in the United States, after the New York City Subway.

Chicago's "L" provides 24-hour service on some portions of its network, being one of only five rapid transit systems in the United States to do so. The oldest sections of the Chicago "L" started operations in 1892, making it the second-oldest rapid transit system in the Americas, after New York City's elevated lines.

The "L" has been credited with fostering the growth of Chicago's dense city core that is one of the city's distinguishing features. The "L" consists of eight rapid transit lines laid out in a spoke–hub distribution paradigm focusing transit towards the Loop. Although the "L" gained its name because large parts of the system are elevated, portions of the network are also in subway tunnels, at grade level, or open cut.

In 2014, the "L" had an average of 752,734 passenger boardings each weekday, 486,267 each Saturday, and 359,777 each Sunday. In a 2005 poll, Chicago Tribune readers voted it one of the "seven wonders of Chicago", behind the lakefront and Wrigley Field, but ahead of Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower), the Water Tower, the University of Chicago, and the Museum of Science and Industry.