Blue Line CTA

Normal behavior of the blue line between Division and Clark/​Lake, between 9am and 10am, which is RUSH hour. These are my observations over the past 3 years.
1. Trains come every 10 minutes or so. For each train going to downtown, 2 to 3 trains go in the opposite direction.
2. Due to 1. and RUSH hour, so many people gather on the platform, that 1 out of 3 days I have to wait for the next train because the train comes full and the hoard of people cannot get in. When I get on the first train, it is a «can of sardines».
3. Almost every single time there are workers on the track, which slows down the train to a crawl, usually between the Division and Chicago stops.
4. Today, at 9:36, according to the online schedule, the next train was due in 11 minutes. It actually arrived at 9:51. This is not the first time this happens.
SUGGESTIONS:
1. Consider that the stops mentioned (probably starting from Logan Square to downtown) are very busy and a lot people still go to work by 10am.
2. Reduce the interval between trains going to downtown to come every 3 – 5 minutes at least till 10:30am.
3. Have workers do their daily job on the tracks after 10:30am.
So far, biking and UberX beat the blue line!

Seems like some people are venting their frustrations about their bad one time experience of the CTA on Unilocal.Like for example one person is complaining about a 20 minute delay and basically bashing the CTA overall due to that experience. Sure many of us don’t think they are perfect but don’t go by just one experience.

The blue line is the second most dirty train line in the city since it’s running 24 hours going to and from O’Hare, but again it’s also the most secluded at some stops since mind you this is the west side we’re talking about and shady stuff is nothing new for locals, but to tourists they need to be careful traveling on the blue line more at night. It is a little cleaner than the red line, but not a huge fan of the smell of piss from drunks and homeless people turning train cars into a public washroom. What is ridiculous is the $ 5 fare to come into the city from O’Hare.

Title: Deep Thoughts by Candice G.
Subtitle: My first time on the Blue Line
Yay! it’s not crowded! We can sit together!
Hmmm… I think my seat might be wet.
Or maybe it’s just cold?
Please let it just be a cold seat.
Jeez it smells like pee in here.
I’m sitting in pee, aren’t I?
The end.
*** *** ***
I left it open-​ended to add interest for the reader, but if you’re the type of person who likes closure in stories, I was later able to confirm that it was, in fact, pee that I was sitting in. Thankfully, I wore my extra thick underwear that day.
I did try to be optimistic about the mysterious wet-​chill of the fabric seat, but it became clear throughout my evening in the city from how much my buns itched and how every time I moved legs a faint to moderate wafting of urine smell would be present in the air.
Well, damn. Damn, damn, damn.
Even though my experience with the Blue Line left me a little worse for wear, I have to give props to such a convenient vehicle. For me, the Metra is def the easiest way to get into the city, but it takes a long-​ass time and doesn’t operate at the impressive frequency that the blue line does. A train running 24 hours a day with boarding every 8 – 10 minutes sure as hell beats a Metra train that runs once every 2 hours with no service past 11pm.
Plus, even though I sat in piss, I still found the people who ride the Blue Line on the weekend to be 10,000 times more tolerable than the average person who rides the Metra on the weekend.

I could probably write a book 30 chapters deep on the quantity of uncanny behavior my friends and I have encountered on the El: delusional crack fiends, bros, boosters, etc.; today wasn’t any different. About 20 minutes ago a woman got on the blue line at Washington. I had already claimed my seat on the swarming train at Monroe, next to a pile of fried chicken bones and aging fingertips with disco nail polish. The woman boarded the train a riot, arms whipping around trying to detach themselves from her body. She bobbed left, right, forward, slid her fleshy palms up the handrail, and clung on as the train sped off to clark and lake. By the scattered eye rolls i’m pretty sure everyone in the cart had come to a acute awareness of this woman’s inebriated presence. With each bump and groove she dipped her head into a patient brunette’s extensions, breathing apologies down her neck. The woman’s legs were useless, i felt like i was watching a paraplegic dangle from monkey bars. The El surfaced at Damen, i figured this woman was truly a champion of well deserved liberty… or at least my seat. L I T E R A L L Y, seconds after i got up, the woman trucked her head foreword and sprayed chunky, fluorescent, discharge all over the girl adjacent. The girl screamed bloody murder. I laughed so hard that i felt my whole body, the crowding of my teeth, the hole in my sock. The girl began cursing in heavy vocal fry and the woman slipped into my seat with a sigh of relief. i was so distracted that i hadn’t noticed the el was already at my stop. I dashed to the doors just as they were closing, i did not slip out gracefully. The doors closed on my face popping a pimple i complained about to a coworker yesterday. With that said, the Blue Line is better than Pornhub, or the Kardashians, or that neighbor’s mail you keep «accidentally» opening.

I always enjoy the weird things I see on the L. The blue line is always packed, but usually clean. It is the closest line to my house so I use it all the time.

Worse train ever! Maybe it’s because I am from NYC, and find NYC trains better designed (but then again, mostly everything in NYC is well designed and well thought out!).
Having spent the past 3 months here for a job, I had to use the Blue Line to get to Rosemont and every morning, without fail, the trains were packed! No one moves to the center, but now I understand why. There are no overhead bars/​rails to hold onto or vertical poles either. The only hand rails are concentrated near the doors and that is where most people hang out. The center is where most of the seating is (theatre row style) and every seat is usually taken, so if you are caught in the center, you can hold onto the «head rest» rail behind a person’s head if you are lucky to grab on (and a person’s head is not already pressed up against it!).
To my discovery, the other lines, like the Brown Line and Red are newer trains and NYC style (with face to face seating) and have hand rails all over the place. Those were nicer. But if I had to do this all over again, I’d get a car!
The only nice thing is that the train is pretty consistent in schedule and clean. I don’t know why others on here complain about it being dirty. NYC trains in my opinion are dirtier (even if better designed!). :)

The Blue Line is alright. Even though it gets crowded at times, it’s the closest CTA train to where I live and it’s the fastest way for me to get to downtown.

So conflicted.
On one hand, there is no cheaper way to get to O’hare. And cheaper by a bucket load. $ 2.75 vs. $ 30+ for either a shuttle or a taxi.
On the other hand, it was one of the noisiest and most rickety rides I have been on. Was reminiscent of those amusement park rides, where it’s supposed to replicated an old train on rickety wooden rails that you’re afraid will give out at any moment — had to keep on shifting to sit back on the seat because would get shaken off.
And the drunk man in front who kept talking to himself until he fell asleep was… entertaining.
Overall, if you’re looking to say some money on your ride to the airport, might be a good deal. Just know that it ain’t the usual subway ride…

Can someone explain to me why every morning during rush hour, there are about 25 trains with noone on them going to O’Hare and about 3 total trains going to the loop that are crammed like sardines?
What sense does this make? None? Right.
Also, it’s dirty, smelly and has a lot of people begging for money. I’m over the blue line and can’t wait to live in Linoln Park again.

Noisiest, noise-​polluted rickety, ricketiest, crappy, crappiest way to go anywhere; except for getting to O’Hare it’s one the best urban conduits in this country.
Oh well, nothing is perfect.

Over priced for the quality of your transportation accommodations, but hey, it gets the job done. And quite frankly, I’d rather pay $ 2.50 to get ORD with a 29 inch Tumi Vapor in tote than $ 38.00 for a taxi to Terminal 5.
Only reason I won’t give it four stars is because there are more attractive people on the Red Lines and Brown Lines.
Ranking the CTA Lines (people watching only):
1) Red Line
2) Brown Line
3) (a distant 3) Blue Line
If I didn’t need a car the CTA would be my life. A lot cheaper than gas these days isn’t it?

In most cities around the world, a train ride to or from the airport costs a lot more than a train ride from one end of the city to the other. Luckily, Chicago isn’t one of them.
The Blue Line is like any other CTA line really … convenient, fast and a cheap way to get around for someone who relies on public transport. Each stop is announced and any connections are explained quite clearly, making travel easier for tourists as well.
Yes, the trains are old and the seats are rickety. But for $ 2.50, should you really expect to get to O’Hare sitting on leather recliners?

Public transportation is cheaper, more green and relatively more efficient than automobile transport. It is also inconvenient at time and the clientele can be challenging.
But, you know what? I’ll take it ANY day over siting on LA’s freeways or taking the buses and few trains there. Ya’ll are spoiled. There, I said it. Yeah, you Chicagoans … oughta try living in LA and getting around without a car. Yea, it can be done. But who the hell would want to? You think these trains area bad? At least you have them. I live in an area of the city where every day, I have so many options on how to get where I’m going, it’s like a game to figure out which is best. Often, I can just catch the first bus available out of 3 and get to my destination just that quick. Or I can take the train, the bus. The train or the bus.
I got so I hardly went anywhere in LA because of the traffic. I pretty much started staying in my neighborhood. Guess what that is? Isolating. Boring. But every time I got into my car to go somewhere, I’d get so aggravated, it just wasn’t worth it.
I just gotta say — the fact that I can get to O’Hare Airport for $ 2.50 is just —- the most awesome thing ever!

When I lived in Peoria, I worked with a nice lady who reminded me a bit of my mom in looks and personality and would sometimes stop by her post for some banter. One time, I was wearing a French blue shirt (this was the 90s), and she said, «Blue is your color.» Why, yes it is, thanks. It’s my favorite color.
That’s why I like the Blue Line. I’m like a girl. Well, not really.
I like the Blue Line because it’s tres convenient for me and I usually don’t have to be on it for more than 10 minutes at a time (knock wood). I’d take it to Marshall Field’s if it were still there. I can even take it to and from Richard’s if I so please. I’m lucky enough to never be on it long enough for that El funk to become attached to me.
Four stars.

Clear markings.
Relatively reliable.
Exits announced well.
Doors to be used announced.
CTA trains could be the class of the world. But…
No attendants selling tickets or giving change. Use a machine or walk!
No one-​day fun passes until you get to a Jewel, Walgreens, etc… and they run out all the time!!!
Those two issues make the CTA 3-​star… just OK.

For tourists (like me!) arriving at O’Hare Airport, the Blue line is the cheapest way to get to downtown Chicago.
The CTA station is well signposted from the airport but the ticket machines are very confusing for newcomers. Fortunately, I had read up about them in my guidebook and was able to get my ticket. As there was no CTA attendant around, I helped quite a few other newly arrived passengers to use the ticket machine.
CTA are also very naughty in not making available the one day ticket at O’Hare — so you have to get a one way ticket to your destination and then buy another one day ticket if you intend to explore Chicago with the El on the same day. Tourist gouging isn’t cool and leaves a bad impression!
The train journey itself was fast and hitch-​free. The trains are nicely air-​conditioned and the stops are clearly announced, always soothing for those of us who are unfamiliar with the town.
The Blue line doesn’t go above ground in the style of those iconic shots of the El, made so familiar in shows such as ER. The stops in the downtown area are underground and getting to street level involves carrying your luggage up and down lots of stairs. Again, I had to help some fellow travellers with heavy bags.
Good train service, bad station design and naughty tourist gouging!

Frequented by hipsters and homeless people, you will either be seatmates with someone rocking skinny jeans or someone rocking back and forth without pants.
One of my more memorable moments on the B-​Line includes a belligerent vagrant drinking a 40. It was 8 AM on a Monday. After drinking half of the beer, he proceeded to throw the other half at the train car as he exited. It’s always great to be sprayed with beer before going to work.
If you like beer, bums, beatniks and brouhahas, the B (lue) line is for you.
Two stars because the direct route to the airport is sorely missed by a now NYC commuter.

The Blue Line got me to & from O’Hare in one piece.
Minus stars for the person/​people who use (d) this train as their bathroom. Just plain foul.
But for $ 1.75, using my Chicago Card, it sure beats taking a cab for $ 40+.

I must be going crazy.
I am giving the Blue Line 5 stars and I can’t believe I am saying this. but I miss you, CTA. Everything about you down to your uriney smell.
Chicago folks, don’t take your public transportation for granted.