Hear us now, believe us later, but if you don't want to end up with a crappy solution to a shitty problem, it might be a great time to contact your State Representatives and Senators and to tell them that you really, really do want to ride the CTA in the "ehh" manner you're used to, rather than the CTA-lite version that the CTA board just passed if they don't get more funds. Tony Coppoletta... more ›

Good news for all those "L" riders whose trips to the Admiral Theater were curtailed since the closing of the Kimball station back in September: get your dollar bills ready because the stop re-opens this Friday at 4 a.m. The re-opening is three days ahead of schedule, leaving Montrose, Addison and Francisco closed to use due to Brown Line reconstruction. To track which Brown Line stations are open, closed or otherwise affected by construction, we... more ›

Yesterday the original Belmont El station was closed, and a temporary entrance was opened 75 feet to the east, similar to the relocation of the Fullerton stop. The temporary entrance will be in use for the next two years, during construction of a new accessible station with improved lighting, turnstiles and platforms. The old station will be preserved and relocated across the street. Transit superfan Tony Coppoletta’s Flickr stream notes that the station initially “opened as a local and express stop on the Northwestern 'L's initial line from downtown to Wilson.” more ›

Friend of Chicagoist and self-avowed CTA nerd Tony Coppoletta proposed an idea this weekend that now has us obsessed: seeing how long it would take to ride every single inch of the El on one fare. Inspired by the ongoing "subway challenge" in New York, in which riders tackle the entire MTA system on one token in the shortest time possible, Tony started thinking about how this would work in Chicago, and even comes up with a theoretical route. more ›

The fire at the Dexter Wirt building will continue to indirectly mess things up for Orange and Green Line CTA riders, Columbia College students, the homeless and anyone trying to get a drink at George's. CTA officials want to make sure the rail structure is safe before allowing train service to resume between Roosevelt and the Loop. In addition, the burnt structure now needs to be torn down so that pieces of the formerly historic... more ›

While walking downtown yesterday, we noticed a sign at the Washington stop on the Red Line that said it’d be closed due to construction. Maybe we’ve got CTA Fatigue, but we shrugged it off and expected it’d be only closed for the weekend. more ›

Today’s CTA Tattler discusses this morning’s RedEye article on the oft-heard but rarely understood CTA public address system. The CTA promises that new fiber-optic cables will soon allow you to know exactly how slow the Red Line is moving today. The Tattler also gives another plug for its CTA wireless alerts system and the transit status website run by friend of Chicagoist Tony Coppoletta. The CTA itself plans on evaluating its online CTA Bus Tracker... more ›

What a week! We finally got through all of our photos from the Soul of Chicago Express tour that Tony Coppoletta magnificently hosted last Sunday. The tour started out up at the Wilson Red Line station and went all the way down to the Green Line Ashland/63. At each of these stops Tony talked to us about the history of the station. We then went to the Quincy Loop stop and the Kedzie Blue/Pink Line Station. The tour was extremely well planned and thought out. We have to applaud Tony for getting everything right on his first try! We were part of the sold-out private tour and we also provided snacks for everyone. If you missed the fun, don't worry. Tony says he'll be hosting another tour, probably in the spring or summer. For now, check out our photos on Flickr and everyone else's 370+ photos there too. more ›

Zolk captured this shot over the weekend at the Soul Of Chicago Express, hosted by Tony Coppoletta and sponsored with a little help from Chicagoist. For more than three hours, the sold-out tour went visited five stations located throughout the CTA rail system. more ›

Chicagoist is stoked to be helping CTA junkie Tony Coppoletta with his latest project - Soul of Chicago Express: a private 'L' train history tour. On August 27, join us for this 3 1/2 hour adventure, and you'll learn more about the CTA rail system, the neighborhoods we traverse, and architectural history and trivia regarding the handful of stations we'll visit across the city. The tour will be hosted by Tony, himself, and there... more ›

As if the El isn't scary enough, don't miss your chance to ride on the haunted El this weekend and next. The haunted tour features costumed characters in the train who tell ghost stories about Chicago's history and mystery. There will also be big huge puppets performing stories based on one of Chicagoist's favorite children's book "Where the Wild Things Are." If that's not enough, the outside of the train will be wrapped to look like a haunted mansion. more ›

Tony Coppoletta, who Chicagoist met at a party and found to be super nice, has created a site, savechicagotransit.com, to help keep you informed on the CTA budget crisis. The information he's collected here is astounding, it definately makes up for the lack of organized, easy-to-find information coming out of the CTA. Also, the FAQ is great and there are some good suggestions on what you can do. more ›