Groundbreaking has officially been held for the long-awaited extension of the CTA Red Line across the Far South Side. Set to connect multiple communities to the rest of the system, the ceremony comes after a high-profile legal battle with the current federal administration over the withholding of funds that had already been approved for the project.
Map of Red Line Extension via CTA
The extension will span from the existing terminus at 95th Street in Roseland down to 130th Street near Altgeld Gardens. The 5.6-mile-long route will use a mix of existing and newly built tracks. With a cost of roughly $1 billion per mile, the project is expensive, but remains in line with other major transit expansions such as those in Los Angeles and Seattle.
Rendering of Red Line Extension by Walsh-VINCI
Plans call for four new stations at 103rd Street, 111th Street, Michigan Avenue/116th Street, and the new terminus at 130th Street. Trains will run on elevated tracks through 119th Street before transitioning to at-grade tracks for the remainder of the route. The stations will follow design themes similar to the newly opened stations on the North Side, featuring simple structures with red accents.
Project context for the Red Line Extension via CTA
Design and engineering efforts for the extension are being led by a joint venture composed of the firms behind the North Side RPM project, known as Walsh-VINCI Transit Partners. We previously covered their selection in 2024. The project will also include the construction of a new train yard and maintenance facility near 120th Street, close to Metra’s existing operations.
Rendering of Red Line Extension by Walsh-VINCI
According to Block Club, local residents will be able to engage with the project through a new community office at 401 West 111th Street in Roseland. The extension is fully funded and is expected to begin construction this year, with an anticipated completion in 2030. As the project progresses, the city is also exploring new development opportunities near the future stations.
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Massive waste of money. Coordination with Metra could have provided much better service at a fraction of the cost.
for just 1 billion dollars we could’ve had ashland, western and north avenue brt lines
White folk dont have the this is not our business gene. Its just not possible. We have trains to evanston oak park forest park skokie yet your here complaining about trains to the city limits. Its sick
Ummm…
You’re not wrong!
He’s actually wrong biologically, geographically, grammatically and in just about any other way one can imagine. The stop at 95th is about the same distance from the Loop as other terminal stops. The idea that mass transit lines should be dictated by race is something that only a bonehead would agree to. And, to the main point, if the idea is to serve South Side riders, efforts could have been done in concert with Metra in a way that gives those areas the best transit access in the city.
literally man. The red line goes past the north side out to the suburbs. But the South side can’t even get a train to cover the City thats in the name of the agency.
Andrew, look at a map. The Loop (the center of the L system) is positioned in the northern part of the city. The three furthest stops from the Loop are O’Hare, 95th and Linden. But Linden is a legacy line that doesn’t run with nearly the frequency of other lines. Dutch’s statement is ignorant and those who second it are just as ignorant.
Also, 95th ends at Howard. The L is funded regionally (not just by Chicago) so in the name of true equity maybe it should be named The Chicago Evanston Wilmette Skokie Oak Park Forest Park or, for simplicity, simply “The CEWSOPFP+”. Since Chicago has about 200 suburbs that pay into the system I included the plus.
If your argument needs a racial stereotype to work, it’s probably not a strong argument. The funding question stands on its own—taxpayers get a say, regardless of who they are.”
I mean that a great idea, but the Metra Alignments for the Rock Island and Electric District just don’t align with existing travel patterns in the area. The Red Line has a lot more utility for Roseland Residents. And quite frankly Metra is really setup for commuters not every day transit.
Please say that last part louder please! Metra maintains a fixed schedule of trains that make it ideal for commuters and does not run 24 hours a day. The CTA Red Line runs continuously 24 hours a day for a wide variety of transit users.
So why couldn’t they put CTA trains on Metra tracks that go 24/7? Do Metra tracks turn to pumpkins at midnight? The Metra Electric that ends at 95th could be converted from Metra to CTA. They’re owned by the same agency. I should say that part louder! North Shore Electroliners used to go around the Loop and then up to Milwaukee. Tracks that are already in the city could get third rails and a dozen stations opened up for all-day service instead of just four. It’s true that Metra and CTA don’t get along but I don’t think that the answer for incompetence and infighting is to reward the behavior with a $1B/mile pork barrel project.
You can build this for half the cost
You place public transit where it’ll do the most good, get the most bang for the buck.
What about the downtown circulatory trolley that would have connected (and obviated the need for cars) between McCormick place, all the train stations downtown, the shopping districts and Navy Pier?
Or the Crosstown el connecting O’Hare with Midway?
Or connecting the end of the Brown Line to the Blue Line and thus O’hare?
Or the trolley system down Ashland Ave that would connect the entire length of the city to a terminus that receives 76k visits a day – Malcolm X, UofI and a slew of hospitals?
It’s a train to nowhere and it’ll do diddly to increase productivity.
Indeed, we’ve got to start electing leaders who prioritize effectiveness of the system instead of ideology. This area deserves better transit, but this far out it really should be BRT and better use of Metra.
Effectiveness should be measured with metrics like most cars taken off the streets, increasing CTA ridership, and increased revenue collected by the city.
Honestly, if we could simply allow CTA busses to use the McCormick Busway, that’ll greatly help out with your first point, while really requiring the construction of any infrastructure.
Regional connections matters. Anticipating and leveraging growth where vast amounts of land exist will be a win for Chicago. The South region is changing and industries and institutions is moving into position. The population will grow as people populated near jobs and seek healthy environments to grow families. Already linked development options are being explored to direct private investments to planned infrastructure and land swaps. The challenge is before the people and all levels of government be make the Redline Extension a National Model for New Urbanism. Watch Us Win!
While I certainly hope your positive outcome happens, it’s still very speculative which is the kind of action that’s put the city in poor financial condition.
John Paul Jones, I also would like your vision to come true but what will be different about the Red Line Extension than the Green Line? The Green Line has tons of open land around it and it’s a shorter trip downtown. Why would development skip these areas on the near South Side and suddenly sprout up in the far South Side?
Like he said the idea is the area is changing, and the green line has also seen more development around it in recent years than in a long time (43 green for example). I would have rather them spend the money on a better project in a busier area but politics and support is a big part of making public projects actually happen, especially transit projects in the US. Unfortunately that’s how it is and it makes sense in this case because one of the things gained support for this project to actually happen is the idea that it’s bringing investment to an area that has lacked it, including developing a lot of the land around the station, not just hoping investors will show up.
Carsten, so we have to wait 60 years for development in Roseland? And the 43 Green is a subsidized project. It’s not as if developers are competing for parcels of land. Like I asked, what is different about THIS project than the Green Line? I know that the planners say that an L is what’s missing…but in this EXACT same scenario (with the U of C and Obama Center) development along the Green has been extremely weak. A $4B roll of the dice based upon dreams and wishes is no way to run a transit system.
The key is to make the city more livable and usable by everyone, and the profits will follow.
We are broke.
This sized spending should be subject to a vote by the people who pay for it. As is said so well above, this is a waste on so many levels.
All look at all you racist people complaining.I bet if this was being built in ya’ll community ya’ll would be saying such a great idea.
Look all the crying ya’ll doing in these comments
Colossal waste of resources, the only reason this project exists is to appease people who think that there is some sort of “injustice” in the way the L system is distributed.
There is vacant land around so many L stops on the south and west sides, so we already have clear evidence that there is little demand for housing in these areas.
Love this, I love even more all the obvious racists who are upset at any money being spent on the south/west side. Sorry ppl, tax dollars being spent in the city and finally connecting southern neighborhoods is exactly what’s needed. Money is always prioritized for white/wealthy areas. Happy tax dollars being spent for long term investment.
Kdfruit, you have argued against community centers being built along with affordable housing developments on the South and West sides. You have gone so far as to say that you’re tired of them. A rational person might conclude that you think limited resources could be spent better elsewhere. But if one were to apply your logic, you are an obvious racist.
People who suggest enhancing Metra Service as the solution to transport in this part of the city simply do not realize how large Rosemont is. Overlay a map of Rosemont on the entire north side of the city see the size. Suggesting someone who lives in the center of rosemont would just walk to a Metra station would be equivilant to telling someone who lives near the Kimball Brown line station to simply walk to the blue line if the brown line didn’t exist.
Does it cost too much? Yes. But is it needed? is this area a transit desert? Yes.
That being said, I would myself prefer to see some of the money going into a re-extension of the green line to serve the University and Jackson Park.
Want to improve the South Side transit options? Rebuild the Green Line to Stony Island. Rebuild the trolley that used to be a trolley down Stony Island. It was before my time but as a kid growing up at 88th an East End back in the 50’s we could see the old trolley tracks under the asphalt on the streets that crossed Stony Island medium.
Want to improve the Southeast Side transit options? Change the South Chicago line of the Metra where it crosses the Green Line at 63rd to en el line.
Do you mean Roseland?
Yes I do. Thanks for catching me
People saying that investing in the Metra service in the area would have been “just as good” are incorrect. Even if you got that Metra line to CTA Red Line level frequencies it still would have a much worse walkshed as the eastern half of it is nearly entirely Lake Calumet and industrial frontage, it would not offer through running service to the north side of the city, drops you off at the edge of the Loop not in the heart of it and does not offer direct connections to any other rail transit in the city. Additionally, it is just not a good practice to redline a neighborhood for decades with the intent of killing development and then a few decades later come back and say “sorry we can’t invest in your community because you aren’t dense enough!”. This project can and will break that cycle for the far south side and I personally cannot wait to ride it to check out neighborhood staples like “Old Fashioned Donuts” on Michigan just north of 113th and the countless other local businesses that will pop up as a result of the economic investment this extension will provide. And by the way, I haven’t even gotten to the important Howard Yard relief the new yard at 120th will bring!
It is nice to see someone on here that has some common sense and decency. If you don’t acknowledge the past you just keep making the same mistakes. Some of those mistakes being intentional I am sure.
Lucas, map reading is becoming a lost art. The Metra Electric does not go up against Lake Calumet. At its nearest point it’s further away from Lake Calumet than the Red Line is from Lake Michigan on the North Side. And even that is for a very short distance. You say you look forward to visiting the South Side but perhaps you should explore sooner so that you don’t post comments that make you look so foolish. Guys like Ray depend on sites like this for information instead of researching primary sources and doing their own thinking so the responsibility is greater than you might imagine.
Also, a Metra line could definitely be hooked up to existing lines. The North Shore Line circled the Loop and then bolted up to Milwaukee for years.
I can read maps and think for myself thank you. The ME line has limited housing to the east between highway 94 and 130th street. Maybe keep your opining in your journal?
As Ray noted, there is limited housing east of the ME. You will remember I said Lake Calumet AND industrial frontage. Additionally, there is no way to directly connect the ME to the rest of the system without extensive tunneling under downtown which would be wildly expensive and that would also require electrifying the UP-N tracks to allow ME trains to utilize them, which would also be incredibly expensive. I also have of course visited the South Side to explore but you are playing willfully ignorant to the concept that shaving a half an hour each way off of that trip would make that trip much easier and therefor a trip many would make much more frequently. I have been having these conversations for years and I still have not heard a good argument that this be the project we draw the line on rising construction costs for when as this article notes it is relatively in line with contemporary grade separated rail projects in this country.
The comments from residents who dont live on the south side show everything they need too. Its a mental illness amongst white folks. You cant just be quiet or realize when you out of your depth. Its fascinating. You coulda juat built it the first time in the 70s and you didnt. Now we know why. Racist weirdos
I’m glad this is being built, but wish we could be building so many more lines and stations throughout the city. We need a more federal funding though since our city is broke.
No way that’s happening until 2029
Amazing how a site that used to debate architecture, transit design, and real economics has turned into a place where disagreement gets reduced to race.
Scroll through the comments—there are people openly claiming that if someone questions the cost or effectiveness of this project, it must be because they’re White and don’t want money spent on Black communities. That’s not subtle. That’s not implied. That’s explicit.
So we’ve gone from analyzing billion-dollar infrastructure to assigning motives based on skin color. And somehow that’s considered acceptable?
Here’s the reality: calling entire groups of people selfish, racist, or motivated by race—just because they question a project—is itself racism. Full stop.
You don’t get to dress it up as “equity” or “calling it out.” It’s the same lazy thinking, just pointed in a different direction.
If every critique is dismissed as racism, then congratulations—you’ve successfully killed any serious discussion about cost, design, or whether the project actually delivers what it promises.
For a site that built its reputation on informed urban discourse, that’s a pretty embarrassing downgrade.
3 years of mayor BJ and this is the narrative in the comments. I guess that “racism everywhere” propaganda is really working. This project indeed makes no sense simply due to density in those areas any further south, could have been solved with additional buses to existing transit terminal on 95th street, not wasting 5 billion but I guess it’s racist to talk about it now. Literally empty lots right next to 95th street station or all along blue line past Fulton market but sure, it’s lack of transit that holds back development there..
100% agree with this. It is fatiguing to have racism called out every time anybody tries to discuss anything. It’s actually reached the point that people mostly just don’t care any more. The ‘racist’ card has lost most of its bite, it having been overused so much over the decades.
Call me that name, I don’t really care. I know that I’m not one, and if anything it speaks more about the character of the person making that accusation than the person being accused.
Try swapping in any other group and see how fast it gets removed to these blatant race hatred filled comments
Debate the Red Line on cost, design, and impact—that’s fair.
But reducing it to racial blame isn’t analysis, it’s just racism… and the fact it’s being tolerated here by YIMBY says a lot.
The dude who gets fatigued by contentious topics, assesses the article with zero morality, and often adds more emotion while decrying “facts don’t care about your feelings.”
Irony has lost its meaning in this modern day right wing hyprociy. I bet you donated to Darren Bailey’s Southloop rent campaign.
One thing that has been consistent in my politics for a long time is a strong dislike of Darren Bailey. But if Drew is this much against him then maybe there’s something I’m missing.
“Smart people don’t like me, you know? And they don’t like what we talk about.”
If ‘facts don’t care about your feelings’ bothers you, you could always try responding with… facts. Just a thought
“Smart people don’t like me, you know? And they don’t like what we talk about.“
Great Project. Excited to see it progress. I believe it will make Roseland a nicer neighborhood once again. Hopefully it will reactivate Michigan Avenue. This area is primed for transit.
The true insanity here is that we’re paying over $1B per mile to build a surface train system. $5.5B for 5 miles of train with four stops.
Meanwhile, Barcelona has recently completed a 29 mile, 52 station system at a cost of 6.7B euros. And it’s subways, for which they had to dig tunnels.
Something is seriously wrong with the way we’re going about building transit.
It’s insane. I wish we could add the circle line, Kedzie line…etc. how is it that much more expensive here?