Chicago Transit Board
January 10, 2007


Thank you Chairman Brown.

Good morning.
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To start the new year on a positive note, I am pleased to announce that our 
three-year renovation of the Dan Ryan branch of the Red Line is substantially 
complete and has come in on time and with in budget.

CTA’s $283 million investment in the Red Line’s south branch largely focused on 
improving power reliability and the delivery of that power to trains operating 24 
hours a day on the busiest line in the CTA system.

When we began the project, there were some areas on the track where 
insufficient power resulted in pockets where trains slowed down.   Following the 
renovation, those areas and other slow zones on the track – totaling more than 
24,000 feet – have been eliminated, helping to further improve service.   

I would add that, as you know, track maintenance is an ongoing activity and new 
slow zones regularly crop up on the system every day.  But through this project 
we have substantially improved the quality of service we provide on this branch. 

In addition to the significant power upgrades, signal and communication systems 
were also improved.

Seven stations along the line, Sox-35th to 87th, received upgrades that include 
new flooring, enhanced lighting, refurbished platform canopies, new customer 
assistant kiosks and improved signs.  

Ten escalators along the branch were replaced and new elevators were installed 
at 47th and 69th, making the stations newly accessible to customers with 
disabilities. 

Enhancements were also made early on in the project to improve bus 
connectivity with the installation of curb cuts, canopies over station entrances 
and improved lighting on the approach to each station. 

Although crews are completing some minor finishing touches at a handful of 
stations, including some painting that won’t occur until warmer spring weather, 
this investment is providing customers on the South Side with more reliable and 
efficient rapid transit service.
___

Building on that theme, we continue to move ahead on the Brown Line capacity 
expansion project.  

This coming Friday, Kimball station will reopen for service as planned following a 
four-month temporary closure.   As you recall, the station closed on September 
15 so by opening on January 12, we are actually a few days early. Although 
construction work will continue for the next several months, on Friday at 4 a.m. 
customers will again be able to board and exit Brown Line trains at Kimball. 

To update you on the project as a whole, the Kedzie and Rockwell stations 
reopened for service on August 16.  

Work also continues at Francisco station, which, along with Kimball, temporarily 
closed on September 15.  The Francisco station will reopen for service in March, 
although construction work will continue following the reopening.

Crews are also working at Montrose, Addison, Western, Chicago, Armitage and 
Sedgwick.

Construction is also in full swing at Belmont and Fullerton, and as part of today’s 
agenda a report on upcoming three-track operation that will let you know how we 
will stage work to allow both of these stations to remain open while tracks and 
platforms are constructed and elevators are installed.
 
Since the inception of the Brown Line capacity expansion project in 1998, three-
track operation has been a part of the construction plan.

The shift to three-track operation this spring in the rail corridor between Armitage 
and Addison will result in more crowded trains and longer commutes for 
customers on the Brown Line, Purple Line Express and north branch of the Red 
Line.  

While construction is underway, trains serving the Belmont and Fullerton stations 
will have to share three tracks instead of four.  

Although trains will continue to stop at the stations, one of the four tracks along 
the platforms at each station must be taken out of service while the platform and 
tracks are reconfigured and widened to allow room for elevators to be installed. 

The specific track to be taken out of service will vary during the course of the 
project and prior to beginning three-track operation we will provide further 
information so customers will be prepared, however, the bottom line is that losing 
one track will increase travel times.

In total, 18 Brown Line stations from Kimball to Chicago Avenue are a part of this 
project.  It is a huge undertaking and we appreciate the patience of our 
customers and neighborhood residents and businesses as we rebuild the 
stations while continuing to run service.

We are moving ever closer to the project’s finish line and the benefits that this 
significant investment will provide for the surrounding community and our 
customers who will experience improved facilities, additional capacity on the line 
and improved service. 
___

And now, as is customary, I have an update for the Board on ridership.

In November, 41.2 million rides were provided during the month, an increase of 
1.1 percent compared to November 2005. The increase is due to the continuing 
growth on the rail system and recent increases on the bus system.

System wide, ridership in November decreased by 0.8 percent on weekdays, 
Saturdays remained steady and Sundays/Holiday increased by 4.6 percent.
Year-to-date, CTA has provided 456.5 million rides, an increase of 0.5 percent 
over last year at this time.  
The bus system provided 25.2 million rides in November 2006, an increase of 0.8 
percent over last year.

Weekdays were up 0.7 percent, Saturdays were down 1.8 percent, and 
Sundays/Holidays were up 4.1 percent.

This was the first month of year-over-year ridership growth on the bus system 
since March. 

Growth was particularly strong on the Ashland (9/X9) and Cicero (54/X54) 
corridors – both corridors that received new 'X' express services, as well as on 
the University of Chicago routes, which also implemented service enhancements 
recently. 

The North Lakefront express routes have been growing ridership all year and 
some key corridors on the South Side, for instance King Drive and Cottage 
Grove, which had been decreasing through the year, had improved performance 
in November.

That being said, many corridors are still below last year's levels and the bus 
system on the year is down 1.8 percent.

The rail system provided 16 million rides in November, an increase of 3 percent 
over last year.  Weekdays were up 2.4 percent, Saturdays were up 4.6 percent 
and Sundays/Holidays were up 7.7 percent.

Ridership on the rail system is up 4.9 percent on the year.
We are still finalizing 2006 totals and expect to have those figures very soon.  
Based on where ridership is today and on past seasonal trends around the 
holidays, it is expected that 2006 will finish higher than 2005.   
In the new year, we remain focused on providing service for our customers that is 
on time, clean, safe and friendly.
_________

In closing, as always, I thank the Board for supporting CTA’s mission of 
delivering quality, affordable transit services that link people, jobs and 
communities. 

I thank you and this concludes my report.

President’s Board Report – January 2007


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