The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is prepping for a surge in commuters with Spring just around the corner, and it has slated several enhancements to its Blue Line services beginning April 20, per statements released Monday by the agency. The Blue Line will enjoy increased trips with the O'Hare Branch set to see two added trips on weekdays, six on Saturdays, and five on Sundays, while the Forest Park Branch will benefit from an even more substantial boost of 30 extra trips on weekdays, 17 on Saturdays, and two on Sundays, as the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Aligned with the anticipated seasonal uptick in ridership the CTA's additional services, are intricately weaved into the fabric of the city's transport ecosystem especially as Chicago ushers in the third and conclusive phase of the Kennedy Expressway refurbishment which will see a transformation in traffic patterns as two outbound lanes close, and the inbound reversible express lanes shift entirely outbound come Tuesday morning. The CTA's Acting President, Nora Leerhsen, expressed enthusiasm for the improvements stating, "Over the last three years, CTA has added service to the Blue Line to improve its reliability and we are excited to add even more service in 2025," in the statement obtained by The Chicagoland Journal.
To ensure a harmonious commute for early birds, the Red and Yellow Line schedules are undergoing a tweak, with the Yellow Line's kick off at 4:40 a.m. from Howard and the southbound train from Dempster-Skokie at 4:55 a.m., as detailed by The Chicagoland Journal. The train arrivals on the Forest Park Branch of the Blue Line, specifically, are brewing a welcomed change with trains scheduled to roll in every seven and a half minutes from 6:30 p.m. till midnight on weekdays, and from 9 p.m. to midnight on Saturdays, which marks a significant progression from the 15-minute intervals commuters have been accustomed to, the changes reflect the CTA's larger mission to train more rail operators which ramped up rail service post the pandemic slump and persisted into 2025. The full scope of the new spring schedules will soon populate CTA's website and feed into real-time apps leveraging the authority's transit data, as the countdown to April 20 prompts adjustments to the collective tempo of the city's pace.
