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My favorite difference betweeen the two major US systems: People in New York always "take the subway" even when it's elevated. In Chicago, people always take the "L", even when it's a subway.

Chicago is the US’s Nagoya. 3rd biggest city. In the middle of the country. And so often forgotten.

Chicago is easily one of my favorite systems in North America, it's so unique and it has a ton of charm. Also the state street tunnel lonnnggg platform is incredibly funny to see in person.

The Chicago 'L' has another unique feature not mentioned: the availability of outside heat lamps at all outdoor L stations. Heat is available from November to March. A very welcome sight during Chicago's harsh winters!

The only thing really bothers me about the Chicago 'L', is its radial system layout, meaning that passengers who want to travel from suburb to suburb, they have to go through the center, which not only makes travel time longer, but also increasing the pressure of the lines.

Some cities tore down their elevated tracks, considering them to be ugly, noisy and light-blocking, but they didn't always replace them with efficient alternatives. Chicago was smart to keep them and develop them further.

I grew up in Chicago and didn’t realize how spoiled I was. Even when my folks opened a business out in Arlington Heights, I was still able to connect thanks to the Metra. I moved out to Phoenix over twenty years ago now and it was absolutely a shock to my system. I remained working in public service for most of my career, but the last five years I began working for the regional transit authority. I wanted to help grow and improve the system Phoenix does have. Watching a video like this reminds me of the long way we have to go.

As a person that just moved to Chicago from a city with ZERO public transportation, it is such a blessing to always have an incredibly cheap and reliable way to get almost anywhere in the city at any time.

I really like the bare aluminum look of the trains; a classic interpretation that fits well with the modern Midwestern urban environment.

Yes finally someone giving the L some deserved love! As you said basically no one talks about the system when it is certainly world class.

Probably the best Chicago rail system video by someone not living in Chicago. A few things of note: The Metra stations don’t meet at one central station by design. When the US rail system was expanding in the 1800’s store owners in the central loop area like Marshal Fields and hoteliers like Potter Palmer (Palmer House Hotel) decided that a great way to boost business for those traveling across the continental US by rail would more likely spend a day in Chicago spending money if they had to change stations in Chicago! Chicago’s location a one to two day travel from the East coast also made it a great location for a travel break. This worked and Chicago benefited greatly from this decision. Today, Amtrak only uses one of those old stations coming into Union Station underground adjacent to Willis (Sears) Tower across Wacker Drive. A great tour of upper Chicago can be taken of the Loop by getting on a Brown line train (or Purple Line train in rush hour) and riding in a circle from the Mart Station around in a circle back to the Mart Station. If you do this twice, you can look (and film) this looking both East and West to see very interesting architectural features that don’t stand out at street level. Because the L system has been there so long many architects built in special features to their buildings at L level because so many would see these features. The Quincy/Wells stop on the L is a short walk east of Union Station and has been restored to historical beauty. The Brown, Orange, Pink Lines (and Purple in AM and PM rush hour) provide convenient access to the rest of the CTA L system. So rail fans coming into Chicago via Amtrak have easy access to the rest of the system including travel to O’Hare (Blue Line) and Midway Airports (Orange Line). One of the reasons the L cars don’t connect easily like some systems is that most trains make very sharp turns in the Loop especially, and this makes easy open connections between cars difficult and sometimes unsafe. Veteran riders do use the doors between cars regularly, but someone with a small child in a stroller, or traveling with a bicycle or in a wheelchair should not use them especially on these sharp turns. The random digit dial customer satisfaction surveys that began in 1995 (I was the Project Manager for them from 1997-2002) shattered many myths about who CTA’s customers were on both their Rail and Bus system and resulted in many of the modern features that you admired though some (like internet access in the subway) took some substantive work to implement. Among other things, the survey found that most customers (seeing passengers as customers rather than riders was an important cultural change CTA made during this era which included transforming ticket agents into customer assistants in stations, making all public information available online, prioritizing spending based on what customers were least satisfied with and found most important about CTA service drove many customer focused spending changes including putting cameras on all vehicles (including buses) in all rail stations, creating a larger customer service hotline (1-888-Your-CTA) and the travel information and announcement system you admired both on the platforms and in the stations. One thing that really surprised Customers as these last were implemented was how on time CTA’s rail system is. (The pandemic was a big financial problem for all US transit systems an the CTA had to reduce service in response though it kept its 24 hour service. It is now doing its best to rebuild back to previous service levels including added security on bus and rail but much depends upon how much work travel returns to the system. Previously work related trips were the primary trip purpose for CTA customers, so non-work trips (to and from school, to and from shopping, social event travel, sports and tourist travel, and church travel while important cannot replace the work travel lost. However, some major employers in the loop, do require in person attendance including sales work, financial work, banking, and others). What drives Transit anywhere in the world is population density. This is why Transit in Europe has such high demand and heavy scheduling. Chicago is blessed with a great deal of density however, it’s area is quite large (234.53 sq mi (607.44 km2)) which means that some regions are still underserved by CTA. The Red Line extension was slowed by economic and political delays but will help to address some of this. The Circle Line and the O’Hare express service were put on semi-permanent pause but splitting the Pink line off of the Blue line is a positive artifact of those changes and thoughts of an extension out to Navy Pier are not impossible in the future. While the CTA is not a department of the Chicago City Government, but is an independent state agency under the umbrella of the local Regional Transportation Authority, finding support for extensions of CTA service into the suburbs is often difficult, although a cross city line running North and South along Western Avenue (27.4 miles) or Cicero, have great promise and would stimulate tremendous job growth but even with the economies of Elevated construction, total costs would be prohibitive. While the Orange Line opening created massive job growth and property value increases in the areas adjacent to the service that is always the perception local residents have when plans are considered when regional decade planning is done. One opportunity for growth would be to expand the Orange Line out to Ford City (South along Cicero from Midway Airport) or beyond to 87th or even 95th Street. This could ease an enormous amount of congestion along Cicero and provide incredible links to jobs in the city center. The CTA has run some express buses from Midway to a few major suburban employers from Midway Airport just as it adds school trips to its bus schedule, but one difficulty is that suburban density and planning are so car centric that gaining support for these proposals is difficult. Another difficulty Transit across the nation has is that National Expenditures favor enormous military spending over all other infrastructure spending. Yet starting in the 80’s Reagan’s diversion of many budget priorities from transit and education to his “Star Wars” military spending has made getting any operational spending and subsidies for transit difficult. Even with the threat of Global Warming, cleaner alternatives like Electric Buses (which CTA is implementing) and more bus service (local and express) are urgently needed. Chicago, at 600’+ above sea level is not under threat of being flooded out of existence, but if such flooding does impact the nation, it and the Great Lakes Region as a whole may need to be prepared for a massive influx of Sea Level refugees. This seems absurd on some levels, yet this type of scenario is something urban planners must envision when looking a decade or more ahead. Thanks for a great video. I’ve been retired for some years now, but I was there during key moments in CTA history (9/12 and The Chicago Flood) and left with a love and appreciation for CTA and it’s role in the region’s economic engine.

As a chicago resident, I believe a circumferential line is absolutely needed, but an airport express is a absolute waste of money.

Chicago L shows how long a great system can last though bad times given the past 60 years of what the city has gone through. A good system will survive bad economies and politics.

As a native Chicagoan (don't live there anymore) who grew up using the L a lot (mostly the Green Line), I do like the ideas for expansion you propose, but there are some problems. The Brown Line connecting to the Blue line part would be extremely difficult to do considering it would have to be mostly underground due to how densely packed a lot of neighborhoods around Kimball/Homan are and the fact that the Blue line is right in the center of a major highway at that point you marked. For the Brown line expansion in the loop, I rather have an underground system that goes under Illinois Ave and stops at Navy Pier since there's no direct rail service to it and it Navy Pier, along with a lot of stores and places along and around Illinois Ave, are famous tourist destinations and lots of places for local nightlife people. As for the Circle Line you propose, I would like to see a complete loop with rail service under Lake Shore Drive, giving rail stops for Solider Field, 31st, North Ave, and Montrose Ave (for the beaches) and Lincoln Park Zoo. It can also have a stop at Navy Pier, connecting with the Brown Line for another rail option.

Minor correction: The loop was called the loop prior to the present loop tracks being built. Originally it referred to three cable car loops in the same area. These were built after the success San Francisco had had. Sadly none of this was preserved like in SF. There’s a book about Chicago Cable Cars by author Greg Borzo

Fun fact: The 2400 series train from the Chicago L was built in Portugal by SOREFAME, of all things. They entered service in 1978 and were retired just in 2014!

Something else that would be good for the Chicago area would be high speed rail between Chicago and Milwaukee, among other cities.

I love Chicago! The L is great, as is CTA in general. The bus system works just about everywhere the L doesn’t. I have no problem getting around the city. Chicago is highly underrated.

Chicago would be ripe for a major transit expansion, perhaps turning the METRA (or at least the electric division) into an S-Banh style system. A big issue though, is that all the commuter lines end in 4 different terminals, and through running Philly-style would be hard to pull off. The transfers to the existing L are also hard to come by. METRA would also have to electrify all the other lines and maybe have to change over to single-deckers, but this would greatly expand service into areas that don't see a lot of it, especially the South Side.

While I'm a huge fan of the 'L', I'm glad you gave some love to the CTA buses. Something I LOVE about the Chicago bus system is that they almost exclusively run on the grid system--to the point that the CTA map is a pretty good map of the city. I hate visiting cities where the buses loop around so much you don't know where they're going next.

I'm so accustomed to how Jago talks about Charles Yerkes that when I hear his name I expect to see that one photo of him scroll up the screen. Good to hear of him on another channel!

There's a certain historic charm to a lot of the vintage stations and it would be a shame to lose that. Accessibility work for old stations that doesn't affect the visual appearance too much would seem to be preferable to complete rebuilds in a contemporary style, I would think.

Bus and L was my main transportation for many years, always a convience when there was a concert downtown , just hop on the L and go...now i live in houston, and you def need a car to get around..ill always appreciate my City 💓

Chicago el trains and subways are featured big time in endless films and TV shows for a reason! It is so cool in so many ways!

Personally, I don't get the big deal about rapid transit or stations feeling "dated". Bad accessibility, lack of amenities, or poor state of repair I get as problems, but not the fact that an old station or vehicle feels old. So long as it is serviceable, who cares if the platforms are made of wood, or if the stations don't feature modern architecture?

What a time for the upload, I'm currently on holiday in Chicago! The system is very convenient to use and the fare system great value for money, but my goodness does the infrastructure need an overhaul. The track in parts is absolutely shocking (especially when coming in from O'Hare), the noise with some vehicles unbelievable, and travel times in some areas much longer than they ought to be. The station distances outside the city centre are also longer than they should be. But I do love the vintage elevated viaducts

I know you gave it a quick mention but Chicago's bus system is pretty good too.

Incredible. I just went to Chicago recently, and it really is a cool city. I'll be spending more time there in the future.

Great summary! I also find that the CTA's online train and bus tracker sites (unfortunately not apps) are very good in providing real-time transit information by replicating the simple "next train" boards found around the stations. The Ventra (pay system) app also does much of the same, but also integrates location-based train, bus and bike share (Divvy) availability, as well as some rudimentary integration with Metra (commuter rail), Pace (suburban bus), and basic crowdedness projections. These really do help in getting around and avoiding the all-too-frequent service interruptions. While not perfect, they are much better than most "official" transit apps/sites.

As a former Chicagoan (who hopes to move back eventually), it's nice to see some coverage of the CTA/L. I lived car-free and relied exclusively on the L and buses to get around. I would normally take an express bus down Lake Shore Drive from Uptown in the early mornings to get to my office in the West Loop, while in the afternoon I'd hop on the red line to head back north to my condo. It's was actually a very consistently reliable setup for my commuting needs. And if by chance there was an issue with the L or buses, I had backup options for getting to/from home and work. The redundancy between the L & the grid-based buses makes living car-free much easier. Nice video! One note, it looks like you have the wrong direction for the orange line traveling around the loop. It travels clockwise rather than counter-clockwise. Only the brown line runs counter-clockwise around the loop (and the green line partially when it's heading towards Harlem in Oak Park). Interesting you noted the Sears Tower and referred to it as formerly known as the Willis Tower when it's actually the opposite. But Chicagoans (and many others) still refer to it as the Sears Tower so I'm sure there are plenty of people appreciative of your reversal in names. :)

You forgot the best fun feature, which is the holiday train that's decked out in lights and decorations!

I've lived in Chicago my whole life, so it's awesome to see you finally cover this!

I ride CTA everyday to get to work. With current gas prices and Inflation I wouldn't of been able to survive without it.

Yay! You covered the L! Chicago is probably my favorite city to visit in part because it is so convenient to fly into Midway, walk to the back of the terminal, and get on the Orange line into the loop where all the hotels are. The other cities I’ve visited regularly are more car oriented and you need to either rent a car or take a taxi or shuttle in to where the transit is. I also enjoy walking around Oak Park and looking at the houses there, and it is really nice to be able to take the Green line from the hotels to a place like that. I love the old stations and viaducts, and think of Chicago as having a Steampunk transit system. I think I might even still have a Ventra card in my wallet despite having not really traveled since the pandemic started.

Best city in America. Interestingly, the metro in Brussels of all places is quite "loop" like. It's a medium sized underground circle around the main center of the urban area. It's bysected north south by a tram tunnel and east west by another metro line. They don't run trains all the way around the loop, unfortunately. Though the infrastructure is very different, the layout of the Brussels metro surprised me with it's similarly to Chicago (much smaller scale as well)

I'm just some random English dude but I agree, the Sears tower is probably my favourite skyscraper. It's just cool somehow.

0:41, 24 hour service?!? I never thought it would be a thing! 8:49 Never seen something like that. 😳

18:05 as a frequent 12 bus rider, there is an immense amount of irony in you having that route on the screen as you say the busses should run more often

Chicago is one of the few cities I'd visit just to ride their transit network. Also, their transport authority did really good ride-along videos covering each of their lines! That new Brown Line crossing does remind me of the District Line at Acton Town.

Chicago has (for US standards) great public transportation and is quite walkable but unlike New York or San Francisco, no insane housing costs and is quite affordable for a major city, though I have heard Chicago IS pricey for the Midwest.

The Loop in Chicago has one of my favourite stations ever!!! Quincy which is a recreation of a L station as it was in 1800s

A lot of Chicago and also add to their wish list of expansions a line down either Ashland Avenue or Western Avenue. This would be the second line to not go across the loop, but it would have several connections and would serve a lot of people.

I lived in Chicago the last two years for hockey and school and completely fell in love with the city. Coming from the suburbs of Denver, where we have a pretty eh light rail system, its a night and day difference living in Chicago. Theres just something about walking from my home to the L, popping in my headphones and watching the city go by that you just can't replicate or explain. Makes me really worry about how long the city is going to stay affordable because I very much hope to live there after graduating,

It really looks as if it could do with some semicircular lines to join things up further out.

For those of you who are saying the radial layout is unorthodox, yes, because a single circumferential line is missing where it should be HOWEVER, this fails to take into account some important details: (and Vox actually fell into the same trap of calling the L system bad without looking at it objectively first) [Let me preface this by saying this - Chicago *is* a global city actually; it is as of the 2018 GaWC an Alpha + global city, however, according to the 2020 revision, it dropped a rating to just Alpha global city; it is no surprise that Chicago has grown into such a powerful player on the world stage... and it did so on the back of the CTA L and Bus system] (for those of you wondering what the GaWC is, a quick Google search will help you out) For one: the L system was and is mostly intended to follow along major thoroughfares from heavily populated outer neighborhoods and to eventually end up in the loop where most people are trying to get. Secondly: the L was never intended as a singular, end-all, transit solutions for an ity that had peak population of nearly 4 million. The city of Chicago actually had perhaps one of the *most* densely built catenary streetcar systems in the entire world until they started ripping them out in favor of buses and automobiles. Today, Chicago's CTA bus system is one of the busiest in the world and serves every single major radial, and grid street in the city. *Chicago's transit system is intentionally designed to be multimodal* - this is why transfers costs nothing to maybe 30 cents. So no, the radial design of the L isn't as flawed as people say. Are there better ways we could have designed it? Yes. But as it is, it literally allows me to not need a car. Combined with Metra, SSL (NICTD), and Amtrak Midwest... there are very few places that I need to go that requires me to own a personal vehicle here. And on top of that, with an ever growing focus of pedestrian infrastructure in this city (just look at all the new protected bike lanes going in, the 606 trail, the lakefront trail, our intentional use of narrow residential streets and good alleys, and much more) not to mention the very unfettered, very forward hostility from the city and county government towards private vehicle ownership (see - speed and light cameras, parking ticketing, wheel tax, city sticker costs, state registration costs, high urban fuel tax, potholes everywhere, terrible traffic, etc.) It really is no mystery why private vehicle ownership among Chicago's younger generations is plummeting. The thing is with the L and the CTA in general is that the system is not "complete" in the sense that new lines are always being investigated for feasibility and often are extended or reconstructed. *Tl;Dr - Chicago's transit system is intentionally multimodal and is priced accordingly. Yes it can always be improved but if you intend to get around Chicago efficiency you will quickly learn when to take the bus, the L, Metra, or Divvy bikes (or whatever else, like the Lime kickscooters). I highly suggest that all of you visit Chicago! (It's awesome year round, even during the winter - and NO, our winters are not anywhere near as bad as people would have you think) and in order to truly get a feel for how our metropolitan transit system works (CTA (L and Bus), Pace Bus (suburbs), Metra commuter rail, South Shore Line NICTD commuter rail, and Amtrak Midwest (halfway Intercity, halfway regional commuter), I think it is imperative to get to experience it first hand. Like me? I've never been to NYC and have not a freaking clue on how it works, and thus, have no opinions regarding the line. I wish to experience it sometime though! At the moment, the MTA is really the only other decently competitive urban rapid transit system in the US. There are others that are coming close and getting better but still, are far behind when it comes to extent and functionality. For instance, our trains have a now 2-3 hour suspension of service and since the pandemic, a reduction in passenger loads and a driver and maintenance crew labor shortage has reduced line frequency across all systems and they STILL come every 10-30 minutes fairly reliably (but not as good as before) and people here are *freaking out* - that's when you know you've built a great and VERY important system. Chicago would die without it's transit systems.

I live next to an L-line. It can be a bit noisy and shaky, but I love hearing the trains pass by!

The "ring train" idea is something I've been thinking about since I moved to this city ten years ago. Chicago is very much a donut city: Downtown is for business, tourism, some big ticket (think museums) cultural amenities, but it's very sparsely populated all things considered. Most life in Chicago goes on in neighborhoods about five miles outside of the loop. The ring you drew looks mostly spot on, though I would want the southern end of it to go a bit further south so that it doesn't pass through the old stockyards. While the pre existing tracks are nice to have, there's denser population below that, and any of those stations in the stockyards would require a lot of urban development to go around them. A great opportunity, sure, but a lot of that land is currently vacant for a reason. Can't have heavy industry for a hundred years and not have some leftovers. One thing important about Chicago being an outdoor elevated system is that our weather is notoriously bad. A 15 minute wait for a train or bus is never ideal, but you hardly think about it in June. It becomes a bit harder to deal with in February.

Incidentally, some Brown Line trains are through-run with the Orange Line (I specifically emphasizes the Brown Line because all of these through-run trains are scheduled to run counterclockwise along half of the Loop, whereas the Orange Line runs clockwise).

Best thing on the L is the announcements booming across the neighbourhoods from the elevated stations - stayed near Belmont and Wellington and could hear them both from the house. BELMONT, this is BELMONT, This is a BROWN LINE train to the loop. MIND the CLOSING DOORS!

Living in south loop the L is amazing and i think it's very pretty. I live about 2 minutes of walking away from the LaSalle Blue line station and it's so useful.

This video came at almost the perfect time for me as I recently booked a trip to Chicago for a couple of days in August, my first international trip outside of Canada since the pandemic began. I'm especially looking forward to riding the L around Chicago!

If you want to do a follow-up on some of the interesting history of the Chicago L, you could cover the history of some of the previous alignments of the lines, such as how the CTA swapped the branches of the Howard-Englewood-Jackson Park line with the Lake-Dan Ryan lines to form the current Red and Green lines, or how most of the current Pink line used to be a branch of the Blue line.

There's something comforting about hearing the L at night or seeing the sparks in the distance. It lets you know the world hasn't ended just yet.

Oh yes Charles Tyson Yerkes! A reoccurring character!

Yeah they've been 'working on track updates and car remodels' for years. Tbf the 24hr lines (red&blue) are slowly upgrading.

Excellent video! We just visited Chicago last week and had a fantastic time, even taking a historical tour of the L. It was fun to recognize many of the sights and stations we experienced and learn more about them.

Just extend the Purple and Yellow to Milwaukee as they used to when they were the North Shore Line...

Thank you for doing a superb job on this video! I grew up in Chicago in the 60s & 70s. The rapid transit system was a major part of my life. You can imagine my horror when I moved to Los Angeles in 1979 and there was absolutely NO rail transit whatsoever for the 8 million people residing in LA County. Glad THAT’S changed for the better.

Chicago is the only place I've seriously used public transport, and this video made me realize how many unique aspects of the cta there are. Most cities dont have estimated arrivals listed outside of the train station? How do you know when to run to the train??? Also, while I know modernizing the stations might be practical, ill be sad to see the historical wood and metal structures go. I was just thinking today about how I probably use the same stairs people used in the 50s. Super cool.

Reliable transit is the main reason (other than cost) why I don't have a car and I don't need one! Thanks for doing the windy city well

The buses for me are probably the CTA's unsung heroes. They're great to travel to L stations because sometimes you do have to walk a considerable distance to the stations. They're also excellent for late night schedules. And speaking as a visitor, maybe another L train that runs along Cicero or Pulaski would be great.

Thank you for covering this topic. There was talks of an grey circle line and a blue line express from the airport in the mid 2000s but the funding wasn’t funding. I’m glad they decided to go with station improvements because the were very old and outdated. On a side note, there are some edits that are not correct in your video, for example when you have the green line, you write purple line to linden. There are a few others like this throughout the video. Again, thank you for covering this historic train system.

EXCELLENT!!! I used to live in Chicago and used the L everyday. Thanks for a look at my old hometown!!!

The abandonment of the Northshore line between Chicago and Milwaukee may be one of the greatest losses in the history of American Rail.

I do appreciate the 'L' getting the attention it deserves, however I feel I must make some notes on the points made in this video, as I want to highlight some of the nuance with the system. Something that I must correct is that the 'L' cars are not derived from streetcars. We did use PCC derived cars at one time, but only the electrics were reused, with the bodies being entirely newly built. The turning loops that you mentioned have nothing to do with streetcars, as streetcars never ran over the 'L' tracks (save for a few exceptional circumstances) and the 'L' has always had double-ended trains. The loops at terminals are simply there to reduce dwell time by not having to switch ends. Now, we do refer to the trucks (bogies) that the trains ride on as "Trolley Blocks," but that is because trains on the 'L' are fitted with track brakes. Track brakes allowed the 'L' to safely operate on grade level lines at speeds of up to 70mph (113 km/h) thanks to the increased stopping power. Sadly, the 'L' is currently limited to 55, but I live in hope... Everything else is minor, but I do want to address that: 1. Union and Ogilvie stations did once have direct connections to the 'L', but the line serving Union (the Metropolitan Main Line) was torn down to make way for I-290, while Ogilve lost it's connection in 90's when the station was rebuilt. LaSalle has never had one because of short-sighted planning. 2. The "2-track corridor" that the Brown and Purple Lines use is actually the south half of the North Side Main Line, and was also 4 tracked with express service north of Chicago Ave. The line lost its outer 2 tracks when all the local stations were closed as part of CTA's cost-cutting in the 40's and 50's. 3. The NSML is the last remaining express line, but the South Side and Lake Street L's also had express service, using a bi-directional 3rd track. The Metropolitan used a mix of 3 and 4 tracks, as well as interlocked passing sidings, which are a story of their own. 4. Open Gangway cars were trialed on the 'L' back in the 40's, with the original 5000-series (no relation to the current series). To allow the open gangway cars to navigate the tight curves, the cars had to be shortened further, down to 29 feet or 8.8 meters, and it proved to be more work than needed (especially when it came to maintenance) and reverted back to the 48ft cars. I would like to see a walkthrough design eventually, but it isn't as simple as it may be for other systems. 5. A major reason why the 'L' uses one standard design is interoperability. The Red Line is frequently rerouted onto the Loop during maintenance or disruption, and so must be able to navigate the Loop. Other examples include the Orange and Blue Line fleet swap from a couple years ago, the shared rolling stock pool of the Red, Purple, and Yellow Lines, and the partial interlining that the Brown Line has with the Orange line currently and has had with the Purple Line. So glad to see you covering the the L, and glad that I can share some of the appreciation for my favorite metro system.

The Sears Tower is actually the former name, it’s currently called the Willis Tower (but us stubborn Chicagoans still call it the Sears Tower!)

The elevated platforms make it so much less claustrophobic than a subway.

the CTA Pioneered the use of highway medians for right of ways.

The O'Hare and Midway express trains were killed due to political bickering. The CTA really had no say regarding those projects and it is the reason why they abandoned the Washington Street transfer tunnel that allowed passengers free transfer between the two line, instead you need to use Jackson Street. The crosstown line aka "Circle Line" is still loosely kicked around now and again.

Having visited NYC several times and Chicago once, I had been a bit biased towards New York given its history, rolling stock varieties and lines. Watching this video, I feel now I didn’t do The CTA enough justice. I rode the Orange Line and the Red, but oddly fell in love with the Brown Line which I used from loop to Belmont before hoping on the Red back into the city. As you’ve presented, this is less a celebrated system considering its size. Glad to see the system start to get some much needed upgrades and the connector line and airport express route would be a great addition. Would be great in a future video to compare Metra with GO Transit given how extensive it is

As someone who has grown up in Chicago, I would say that you're spot on in pointing out that Chicago's transit system if very radial. All lines feed into the city, but don't really connect the city together. Meaning, it's hard to go from one side of the city to another without first going to the city center. For those unaware, Chicago is fairly segregated based on Socio-Economic status. Most of the violence you hear about on the news happens in just a handful of neighborhoods...neighborhoods with no economic engines supporting them. Adding metro lines that better connect the city would allow a better flow people throughout the city. The city is just too damn big for how few metro lines we have. Also, in 16:19 you draw a new line where there's a huge gap in rapid transit. I live there. It sucks. It makes people overly reliant on cars to get anywhere. We have to take buses through bottlenecks of traffic just to get to the green or blue line. This can also be seen in the southwest side of Chicago, there's no transit lines down that way either.

I watched this video to see how different the train looks now from how it was in the 90s movie, The Fugitive. It basically looks the same, I love it! The wooden platforms are cool.

As a 32 year resident and amateur Chicago rail nut, this was very well done Reece. Just a couple of comments. The term "loop" actually predates the elevated loop. It was a term used to describe the street cars looping around the downtown to go back out, forced to do so of course by Lake Michigan being to the East. Also, O'Hare technically has another rail service, that being Metra North Central Service. It only takes 34 minutes from Union Station. But the O'Hare stop is in remote parking so you have to change to the airport People Mover or a short bus to get to the terminals. Not perfect, but a valid option for many people living near that Metra branch and from Downtown. It also has infrequent service.

Ah finally, the video is here. The Chicago L will always be amazing, no matter how bad it gets!

That was a very good Presentation. I hope to visit Chicago one day. Thank You

7:20 - It was announced this year the Red Line is also getting a 5.3 mile (8.5 km) extension south to 130th Street with four stations.

I'm a regular rider of the Brown Line, and it's fun to see places I recognize in this video! I rode on a 7000 series train last year when they were testing them. They're definitely an upgrade, though I prefer the arrangement of seats on the regular Brown Line trains. Also, I am glad that they're not changing the train cars to be all interconnected, because having the separate cars at least contains the smell when people smoke on the train. Connecting them all would just make the whole train smell like cigarettes.

Thanks for making this! As someone who’s lived in & around chicago for most of my life I’ve been waiting for this one for a while. This was really well done! I like many chicagoans feel the need for an “outer loop” of sorts. My fantasy map idea for it is to construct a straight line for tracks running up and down Western Ave. The brown, Blue (on both branches) pink, orange, and even one Metra line all have stops at Western. Making this run of new tracks great for transfer options. Also, Creating this run of tracks would allow for Connection to most, if not all, other lines by then continuing the “outer loop” line along the existing orange and brown lines on either end and through the city center. And that would allow for Connections to the other lines, most notably the red and green lines at Roosevelt and the red line and purple lines at Belmont. Thanks again for making this! And I’m really glad you mentioned the brown line over pass at Belmont and how the bus system here is under appreciated.

Great! I’ve ridden the el for 30 years. Absolutely true about the vintage feel. Some stations have nice metalwork and the elevated track design does make it seem like going back 100 years. Good to hear about price value and 24 hr lines. Makes me appreciate. Chicago was the rail capital of the US and still might be. If you haven’t done anything on Amtrak, I’d be interested in your take. Best way to go from Chicago to Milwaukee. Good for leisure travel on longer distances. Cheers many thanks will remember this.

The L is amazing, only thing I would add is a day pass for unlimited train/bus rides is only 5 buck, hard to get better value than that

Chicago could really use a 'circle' line to connect all the other lines. Forced transfers to downtown or to a bus for certain trips isn't a great design.

I have watched some of the CTA videos of their transit systems same with NYC Tim in Toronto

Just moved out of Chicago after 3 years there (comfortably without a car) and my god I miss it so much. I don't think I'll love living anywhere as much as I did in Chicago. I hope I get to move there for good at some point

The voice of “doors open on your left” is iconic 😅

They need to build the shelved Mid City Transitway (an outer line connecting the various spokes) as a REM style system. In the early 2000s, it was projected it could have been their third-most-used line if constructed.

Great video, I thought navigating through the loop was a bit confusing while visiting, but I really loved the elevated track design and the tight corners it has, somewhat like a roller coaster :D Chicago will always be a nostalgic city for me.

11:25 - what's really frustrating about the lack of a stop for the United Center is there is that it would be so easy to build. As the line passes over Monroe Street there's only parking lots for the United Center on either side of the street, so there's not even any right of way issues. And in case you're thinking the parking lots mean that's a bad location for a station, it would actually also be a block away from a large senior housing apartment complex and a lot of shopping and restaurants in the West Loop. There's a big transit gap here because there's also no blue line stations when it passes just to the south of this neighborhood

I've been in Chicago a few times, never used the trains- - -we just walked everywhere but they were fun to see.

The CTA studied a circle line in the mid 2000s but it was ultimately shelved. Additionally, in the study documents for alternatives considered there is a Ashalnd elevated rail that would be considered that was in 2013 revived in 2013 as the ashland BRT which was further shelved because of Nimbys. Ashland is on of the widest streets in chicago and could easily support an elevated rail line down it that would also connect all the lines.

10:18 When you are talking about the green line, text saying Purple Line is present.

7:55 About the red line connecting two stadium, we’ve the same thing here in São Paulo. The Line 3-Red starts at Palmeiras-Barra Funda near Palmeiras stadium and it ends at Corinthians-Itaquera near the Corinthians stadium and they’re the fiercest rivalry in town. I love how gorgeous the Loop is. It not a ugly elevated viaduct, it’s connects so well if the adjacent buildings and the neighborhood. Loved being in Chicago, hope to go back soon.

As someone who lives in one suburb and works in another suburb far away, I wish there were circumferential lines. It’s been requested for ages, but never actually developed. It’s a lovely system when I’m in the city for entertainment or when I travel to my company’s downtown office.

So glad this video is a thing! I've wanted something like this about the Chicago L for a while it really doesn't get enough love

My apologies if this as already been mentioned but the Yellow Line to Skokie is the only remnant of the former North Shore line (Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee). It operated hourly electric trains all the way to Milwaukee until its unfortunate demise in 1963.

The lack of a good united center station on the pink line is criminal. The pink and blue lines should also be (re)extended.

Fun fact, the precursor to the yellow line (the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee RR’s Skokie valley Route) Goes right by my house, and is, after dempster St, totally abandoned

I live in Skokie where the Yellow Line goes through and I used to live near the Howard Street CTA Terminal and I have many ideas for expansion. One merge Pace Suburban Bus and Metra Commuter Rail into one organization kinda like The Metro North and MTA and begin from there. For example there were plans to extend the Yellow Line from Dempster Skokie to Old Orchard Mall and eventually Lake Cook Road using the former Union Pacific/North Shore Line Skokie Valley Branch Right Of Way I say it should happen. Also extend The Blue Line from O'Hare to Woodfield Mall and end at The Northwest Transportation Center and connect to buses. I would also extend The Orange Line to it's original intended end of the line at Ford City Mall with potential for a future extension.

Great maps and visuals. The L is very charming and feels approachable and welcoming in a way that the NYC subway never has for me. Overall, for where it goes, it's very satisfying. It does seem like it should have some more far flung service than it does but Chicago has so much commuter rail to fill that role for a lot of downtown bound riders.

Now you need to visit. It really is a beautiful city and the "suburban" parts of it are more like streetcar suburbs with endless main streets.