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CTA Purple Line Revamp Begins July 20

CTA Purple Line Revamp Begins

(CBS) -- Purple Line Express trains will begin living up to their name and won't poke along so slowly, once four months of work is done to remove slow zones.

The work begins July 20, and CTA President Dorval Carter said Thursday that it should eliminate seven of the 10 slow zones that hold trains to 15 mph in some stretches between Howard and Lawrence.

"What it's going to mean for the riders is that they're going to have a faster and better quality, smoother ride than they've been experiencing in the past," he said. "And that will ultimately, I think, benefit both existing customers and new customers that we hope to bring to the line."

Some portions of the line were last upgraded in the 1970s, Carter said.

The express trains run between Linden/Wilmette and the Loop mainly during rush periods on weekdays only. Most of the work will be done overnights and on weekends, which should minimize the inconvenience to the 13,000 riders who use the Evanston Express each weekday.

CTA will spend $30 million in locally generated money and a $10 million federal grant to realign track, replace some of the rails and install new ties that will hold the rails in place.

This won't be the ultimate fix, but it sets the stage for complete reconstruction of the embankment and replacement of its more than 90-year-old concrete bridges. Carter said negotiations continue between CTA and federal transit officials for full funding of the Red-Purple Modernization project.

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