North Side main line

The North Side Main Line connects to five other branches of the Chicago 'L', including the Ravenswood branch which is served by the Brown Line, the State Street subway which is served by the Red Line, the Skokie Branch which is served by the Yellow Line, the Evanston Branch which is served by the Purple Line, and The Loop which is served by Brown and Purple Line trains. North of Howard, the Purple Line continues to Evanston and Wilmette, and the Yellow Line runs through southern Evanston en route to its terminus in Skokie.

The North Side Main Line serves the Near North Side, Old Town, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Wrigleyville, Uptown, Edgewater and Rogers Park neighborhoods of Chicago, and has stops near Wrigley Field and Loyola University.

Yellow and Purple Line trains merge onto the line at its northern terminus, the Howard Street Station. Red Line trains and the weekday rush hour Purple Line Express trains continue south on the part of the line that is known as the Howard Branch. The Ravenswood branch connects to the Main Line north of the Belmont station, where Brown Line trains merge onto the Main Line.

The part of the line south of this junction is known as the Loop Branch or the Ravenswood Connector. On the portion of this branch shared by Red and Brown Line trains, Red Line trains operate express on the inside tracks, while Brown and Purple Line Express trains run local on the outer two tracks. The Red Line passes through Wellington and Diversey stations (which is served mainly by Brown Line trains) and all trains make another stop at Fullerton.

After Fullerton, the Red Line descends into a portal after Armitage, and enters the State Street subway, while Brown and Purple Line express trains continue elevated for the remainder of the Main Line to Merchandise Mart, where they cross the Wells Street Bridge and enter the Loop at Tower 18.

The line began operation on May 31, 1900, between The Loop and Wilson Avenue as the Northwestern Elevated Railroad. On May 16, 1908, service on the line was extended to Central street in Evanston.[2] From 1919 to 1963, the line was also utilized by interurban trains of the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad.[5][6]

Since 2002, the main line has gone through plenty of renovations and rehabilitation projects and those projects are still going on as of today. Station renovations and track replacements have been happening ever since early 2012 and the CTA has been recently renovating all the Howard branch stations as part of the Red North Station Interim Improvements (see below).

• 
  The North Side Main Line runs on the old Northwestern Elevated Railroad
• 
  The Belmont station under construction in 2007
• 
  A temporarily rerouted Red Line train leaves the North Side Main Line and enters the Loop
• 
  The Howard station complex serves as the end of the main line

• Northwestern Elevated Railroad

• North Side Main Line: Howard Branch at Chicago-L.org
• North Side Main Line: Loop Branch at Chicago-L.org