CTA Yellow Line Service Is Finally Back After Five Long Months

By Kate Shepherd in News on Nov 2, 2015 10:08PM

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The CTA Yellow Line is finally back. Service on the line, which services Skokie from the Howard Red Line station, returned last Friday after an unexpected five month interruption, the CTA announced in a statement.

Trains stopped running in May when an embankment collapsed, caused by Metropolitan Water Reclamation District construction, along the route. The MWRD and its contractor Walsh Construction had to design and reconstruct the embankment in order to restore service.

"This was an unprecedented event but all parties involved have worked cooperatively to restore service as quickly and safely as possible," CTA President Dorval Carter said in a statement.

As a thank you to customers, the CTA will be offering free Yellow Lines through Friday Nov. 6 and free parking at the Dempster-Skokie station's Park and Ride facility through the end of the year.

"The community has demonstrated considerable patience with this inconvenience and has shown strong support for the numerous businesses near the Yellow Line stations that rely on commuters as customers," Skokie Mayor George Van Dusen said in a statement. "We hope that ridership levels will quickly return to levels attained before the unfortunate service interruption, and encourage the community to take advantage of CTAs generous offer of free rides for the next week."

Regular Yellow Line riders, who were offered shuttle bus service during the interruption, are glad that the trains are back.