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Purple Line - Chicago
Rating Details »
8 reviews for Purple Line - Chicago
The Purple line only has like 9 stops total, unless it is running express to and from Chicago. It's one of the only redeeming ideas out of CTA. However, poorly executed often. Here is how to improve the current sucky characteristics of the purple line:
1. please don't leave people waiting around at howard for over 15 minutes for a train. people shouldn't have to wait 20 minutes for a train. that's absolutely absurd. if it was free, it would be less absurd. but it's not, so it is totally absurd.
2. chicago is cold. and those 3 little george foreman grills you call "heaters" towering over maybe 20 people crammed under them aren't sufficient to actually keep people warm when it's below 20 degrees. get better heaters. Or, have covered stations if you know that people will have to wait there for 20 minutes!
3. Estimated time tables of train arrivals is arbitrary and indicates that Chicago is lazy. You should dictate a schedule with REAL times. Yes, there will be some deviation day to day, but it helps for organizational purposes and makes CTA not look lazy. Saying that a train will come between 6-16 minutes means that you are lazy and will come whenever you want.
4. Security. Ever heard of it? Maybe if you have some on the trains, people won't pee on them. Just saying......I mean, that extra 25 cents from all the train riders should take care of those salaries.
Anyway, I'm being harsh here, but I feel like the Purple line has potential. Maybe one day...
Dear oh dear, my dear CTA. You are having problems aren't you?
The purple line looks like it would be a great boon to those living/working in the far north/Evanston. Unfortunately, as with many things CTA related, it doesn't work the way it should. I have ridden this train now for several months, in cold and warm weather, and I'm sorry to say that the warmer temperature doesn't seem to improve this dragging train's service.
The normal wait for a purple line train during rush hour is somewhere around 10-15 minutes! Is that ever acceptable in a major city? Of course not.
The other day, it took 3, yes 3 purple line trains to get from Belmont to Noyes. Why 3? Well, I hopped onto the first one that came (after a 12 minute wait), which turned out to be going only to Howard. What's the point of a purple line north bound train that only goes to Howard? So I got off at Howard and waited. Again. 5 minutes later another purple line train comes. This one is doing the charming yet pointless, express route of going to Davis and skipping to Central. So I pile out of the train at Davis, along with the rest of the train, and wait. Again. Finally the third train arrives and actually takes me to my destination.
While the example of the 3 trains is probably the worst I've had, it does exemplify the Purple line service.
Purple line is S-L-O-W. I waited at Clark/Lake for over 20 min for either the brown or purple to show up, and the Purple was first. When the red line and orange line came through, it came through FAST, and then left fast. The purple line comes chugging in slowly, like the Little Engine that Could. And leaves just as slowly. We go through the loop at a snail's pace - is this how fast/slow it usually runs, or did we just get on a bad train??? I figured once we got past the loop we'd travel much faster on our way to the Belmont stop, but NO, it traveled at the same pace the whole way there. I will never ever live somewhere where I need to rely on the purple line as my main means of public transportation.
Three stars if compared to the Metra, but five stars if compared to the other EL lines. From Evanston I normally take the Metra to get to Chicago, but during the mid-day hours when the Metra is rarely functioning, I take the Purple line to reach downtown. Not a bad alternative...just takes twice as much time to get there, typically over an hour. And transferring onto Red or Brown can be a nightmare depending on the weather. (Those heated booths don't do much.)
I love their express lines that run during the rush hours (approx. from 7am to 10am and 4pm to 8pm), though. They skip about a dozen stations and take you directly to the loop, which is great. You're also guaranteed a seat if you're getting on from Evanston.
The seats aren't as clean and comfortable as those on the Metra, and the conductors aren't as helpful. In fact, they can be very irritable. But still, it's better than having to drive down...
I like it because it flies past all that territory, even if it takes 15 or so minutes, it is fast for the distance.
Purple Line trains are one of my favorites - you'd think by how crowded the train gets during express hours -t hey'd either add more cars to the train or increase service - wish that they ran on the weekends too! It's great because you can live in the northern suburbs, including Evanston or Wilmette and go straight downtown into the Loop.
I have a love/hate relationship with this line. It saved me many a-times when I needed to escape my harsh suburban teenage realities and go down to Belmont and Clark (when it was "edgy," son) back in the day. But I suppose now that I am a seasoned--and even jaded--daily CTA rider, I have to say that for such a popular link line, the Purple Line is exceptionally slow. I mean, I guess everyone knows that the CTA could use an overhaul entirely, but imagine how amazing it would be if you could catch the Purple Line express at Clark and Lake at 1:30 instead of at Howard at 1:30 on a Saturday night! Nowadays, if I need to catch the Purple Line to Evanston on a Friday or Saturday night, I best be prepared to leave the bar and be on a train by midnight if I have any chance of getting the equally long and slow Red Line to Howard for that 10 minute ride to Evanston. What a crock.
I adore the Purple Line. It actually runs up North to Evanston, and you can transfer from there to the Yellow Line for Skokie. My only complaint: The express trains from Davis St. to downtown Chicago don't run often enough.
