4/5/07
CTA's rail and bus service continued to perform as expected on the fourth day of three-track operation at the Belmont and Fullerton stations. Although there were a few minor problems with equipment, staff responded quickly and avoided long delays.
Northbound trains experienced slight delays due to signal problems. The signal problem was resolved but resulted in delays from 8 to 12 minutes of northbound Red, Brown and Purple Express trains.
Just after morning rush, southbound trains encountered signal problems just north of the Fullerton station. Signal maintainers on site corrected the problem which resulted in an 18 minute delay on the Brown Line and a 9 minute delay on the Red Line.
During the busiest part of the morning rush, Brown and Purple Line trains were very full by the time they arrived at Armitage and some customers had to wait for the next train before they could board, which is typical of weekday morning rush.
Service during evening rush operated as expected with no notable delays in service.
With the exception of these incidents, morning and evening travel times remained consistent within the expected service intervals.
Buses continue to be a popular alternative. Ridership remained strong on the #11, #22, #136, #143, #145, #146, #147, #148, #151 and #156 routes leaving downtown and traveling north.
The CTA's web site, transitchicago.com, and the ctabrownline.com site have information pertaining to the three-track project.
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