Racine   1200W 430S
Chicago 'L' rapid transit station
General information
Location	430 South Racine Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60607
Coordinates	41°52′33″N 87°39′34″W / 41.87592°N 87.659458°W / 41.87592; -87.659458
Owned by	Chicago Transit Authority
Line(s)	Forest Park Branch
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Construction
Structure type	Expressway median
History
Opened	June 22, 1958 (1958-06-22)
Rebuilt	2023–2025
Passengers
2022	323,222[1]  45%
Services
Preceding station Chicago "L" Following station Illinois Medical District toward Forest Park Blue Line UIC–Halsted toward O'Hare
Former services Preceding station Chicago "L" Following station Polk toward 54th/Cermak Blue Line Cermak branch UIC–Halsted toward O'Hare
Track layout Blue to O'Hare Racine Ave. I-290 (Eisenhower Expy.) Loomis St. non-revenue ramp to Pink Blue to Forest Park
Location

Racine is an 'L' station on the CTA's Blue Line. The station serves the Near West Side neighborhood and the western end of the UIC campus.

History

The station opened on June 22, 1958, and is almost identical to every other station built in the median of the Eisenhower Expressway, including an island platform, a small station house on Racine's and Loomis's overpass containing only a ticket booth and turnstiles and a long passageway ramp connecting the two.

Service

Racine sits at the base of the Loomis ramp, a double-tracked viaduct that rises from the expressway to join the Douglas Branch north of Polk station. Prior to April 28, 2008, the Blue Line split into two branches here. Trains to Forest Park continued west in the Congress Expressway, while the other trains took the Loomis Ramp to the Douglas branch to operate to 54th/Cermak. After April 28, 2008, the Douglas Branch service was discontinued and replaced by the Pink Line. Although the Loomis Ramp no longer is used for revenue service, it remains intact as the only track connection between the Blue Line and the rest of the system, allowing for non-revenue equipment moves. When construction or another means of traffic obstruction occurs on the Pink Line between Polk and Ashland, trains are routed via the Loomis Ramp to Racine, where they terminate.

Renovation

Blue Line tracks under reconstruction at Racine station

As part of the Forest Park Branch Rebuild project, Racine is currently undergoing a renovation lasting from July 2023 until 2025. The station will have both entrances rebuilt, new elevator installed, new stairs and an ADA-compliant ramp added, and the platform extended. The Racine station closed to allow new tracks to be built between Illinois Medical District and LaSalle, and the closure lasted until October 2023, after which the station itself and the Loomis entrance reopened to riders. The Racine entrance will remain closed until 2024 for reconstruction. After that, the Loomis entrance will also close until 2025, at which point the station renovation is scheduled to be completed.^[2][3]

Location

The station is located at 430 South Racine Avenue and gives access to the University Village neighborhood and the western end of the UIC campus. It is in the Eisenhower Expressway median at surface level. The Loomis Street entrance to the Racine station is located near Whitney M. Young Magnet High School and Andrew Jackson Language Academy.

Bus connections

CTA

• 7 Harrison (Weekdays only)
• 60 Blue Island/26th (Owl Service)
• 126 Jackson

Pace

• 755 Plainfield/IMD Express (Weekday Rush Hours only)

References

External links

• Racine (Congress Line) Station Page
• Loomis Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Racine Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View