Western station (CTA Blue Line Forest Park branch)

Not to be confused with Western station (CTA Blue Line O'Hare branch), also on the Blue Line.

Western is a station on the 'L' system, serving the Blue Line's Forest Park branch. It is located in the median of the Eisenhower Expressway. It serves the Near West Side neighborhood and Crane Tech High School. The station is also located about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the Western Avenue station (BNSF Railway) commuter railroad station.

Western   2400W 430S
General information
Location	430 South Western Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60612
Coordinates	41.875478°N 87.688436°W / 41.875478; -87.688436
Owned by	Chicago Transit Authority
Line(s)	Forest Park Branch
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Construction
Structure type	Expressway median
Bicycle facilities	Yes
History
Opened	June 22, 1958; 67 years ago (1958-06-22)
Passengers
2024	200,073[1]  5.7%
Services
Preceding station Chicago "L" Following station Kedzie–Homan toward Forest Park Blue Line Illinois Medical District toward O'Hare
Former services Preceding station Chicago "L" Following station California Closed 1973 toward Des Plaines Congress branch Medical Center toward Jefferson Park as an elevated station (pre-1953) California toward Des Plaines Garfield Park branch Hoyne toward Marshfield
Track layout Legend Blue to O'Hare  Western Ave. I-290 (Eisenhower Expy.) Blue to Forest Park
Location

History

Elevated station

The original Western station opened in 1895 along with numerous stations on the Metropolitan West Side Elevated lines. When skip-stop service was implemented on the Garfield Park branch in 1951, Western station was designated an A station (only A trains would stop at this station).^[2] In 1953, the elevated station was closed in favor of temporary tracks running along Van Buren Street. The temporary tracks were built to accommodate the construction of the Congress Expressway and an expressway-median branch.^[3]

Expressway-median station

The expressway-median station opened on June 22, 1958. During the time when the CTA utilized skip-stop services, the station was designated as an A station, much like its elevated predecessor. This time, however, all stations on the Congress branch west of Racine station were A stations; B trains would run along the Douglas branch (part of today's Pink Line).^[4][5]

Bus connections

CTA

• 7 Harrison (Weekdays only)
• 49 Western (Owl Service)
• X49 Western Express (Weekday Rush Hours only)