The CTA will provide extensive bus and rail service for all participants and spectators heading to the 2012 Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday, October 7. The marathon begins at 7:20 a.m. for wheelchair participants and 7:30 a.m. for runners; all will start the race just north of Jackson on Columbus Drive with the course winding through multiple city neighborhoods.
CTA recommends customers attending the marathon purchase their farecards or Visitor Passes in advance with enough value for their return trips later in the day. This will help to decrease travel time and reduce lines.
CTA personnel will be on duty at select stations along the Blue, Red, Green, Brown, Pink and Orange lines and at major bus stops to assist customers and to provide travel information.
CTA will operate longer trains to accommodate expected crowds. Because bus routes in the vicinity of the marathon also will be impacted with intermittent reroutes or delays due to lane closures, CTA recommends customers allow extra travel time.
RAIL SERVICE
Blue, Orange, Pink and Red Lines
Longer trains will operate on each rail line during marathon hours. More frequent service will operate on the Red Line.
Brown Line
Brown Line service into the Loop will begin earlier than normal, with the first train departing Kimball at 5 a.m., providing service to downtown. Longer trains will operate during marathon hours.
Green Line
Green Line service will begin earlier than normal, with the first trains departing from Harlem/Lake at 5:30 a.m., 63rd/Ashland at 5:20 a.m. and 63rd/Cottage Grove at 5:40 a.m. Longer trains will operate during marathon hours.
Orange Line
Orange Line service will begin at its regular Sunday start time; however, longer trains will begin operation at 5:30 a.m. from Midway.
Purple Line
Purple Line service will begin earlier than normal, with the first train departing from Linden at 5:30 a.m., providing service to Howard where customers can transfer to the Red Line for service to downtown.
BUS SERVICE
On Sunday, CTA will provide earlier service on the #3 King Drive bus route. From 5:30 a.m. to 8:05 a.m. #3 buses will operate every 15 minutes between McCormick Place and Chicago/Mies van der Rohe to accommodate runners and spectators.
During the course of the race, there will be intermittent reroutes along several CTA bus routes. The affected routes are:
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#3 King Drive
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#56 Milwaukee
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#4 Cottage Grove
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#60 Blue Island/26th
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#6 Jackson Park Express
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#62 Archer
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#8 Halsted
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#65 Grand
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#9 Ashland
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#66 Chicago
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#10 Museum of Science & Industry
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#70 Division
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#11 Lincoln/Sedgwick
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#72 North
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#12 Roosevelt
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#73 Armitage
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#14 Jeffery Express
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#74 Fullerton
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#18 16th/18th
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#76 Diversey
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#20 Madison
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#77 Belmont
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#21 Cermak
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#124 Navy Pier
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#22 Clark
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#126 Jackson
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#29 State
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#145 Wilson/Michigan Express
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#35 35th
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#146 Inner Drive/Michigan Express
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#36 Broadway
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#147 Outer Drive Express
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#44 Wallace/Racine
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#151 Sheridan
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#50 Damen
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#152 Addison
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Reroutes can be expected in the downtown area from 6:30 a.m. until 4 p.m.; on the North Side from 6:30 a.m. until noon; on the West Side from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m.; and on the South Side from 6:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. All times are approximate and detours will be determined by Chicago Police and CTA supervisory personnel.
VIEWING AREAS NEAR CTA STATIONS
Viewing areas are designated near CTA rail stations at nine points along the marathon route for those interested in following the progress of the race.
- First Viewing Area – Grand (Red Line) Station – Miles #1, #3 and #12. Board a Red Line train and exit at Grand Avenue.
- Second Viewing Area – Monroe (Red Line) Station – Mile #2. Board a Red Line train and exit at Monroe. Walk two blocks south to Jackson/State.
- Third Viewing Area – Chicago (Red Line) Station – Miles #3.5 and #11.5. Board a Red Line train and exit at Chicago. Walk three blocks west to LaSalle Street.
- Fourth Viewing Area – Addison (Red Line) Station – Mile #7.75. Board a Red Line train and exit at Addison. Walk four blocks east to Broadway.
- Fifth Viewing Area – Sedgwick (Brown Line) Station – Mile #10.25. Board a Brown Line train and exit at Sedgwick Street. Walk a half-block north to North Avenue.
- Sixth Viewing Area – UIC-Halsted (Blue Line) Station – Miles #16 and #16.5. Board a Blue Line train and exit at UIC-Halsted. Use the Halsted Street or Morgan Street exits. Walk two blocks north on Morgan Street to Adams Street to view runners at Mile #16 in Greektown. Use the Halsted exit to view runners at Mile #16.5.
- Seventh Viewing Area – 18th (Pink Line) Station – Mile #19. Board a Pink Line train and exit at 18th Street. Walk one block east to Ashland.
- Eighth Viewing Area – Halsted (Orange Line) Station – Mile #20.5. Board an Orange Line train and exit at Halsted.
- Ninth Viewing Area – 35th-Bronzeville-IIT (Green Line) Station – Mile #23. Board a Green Line train and exit at 35th-Bronzeville-IIT. Use either the 34th Street or 35th Street exit.
- Tenth Viewing Area – Sox-35th (Red Line) Station – Mile #23.25. Board a Red Line train and exit at Sox-35th. Walk two blocks east on 35th Street to State Street.
- Eleventh Viewing Area – Roosevelt (Red/Green/Orange Lines) Station – Finish Line. Board a Red, Green or Orange line train and exit at Roosevelt. Walk east on Roosevelt Road toward the Museum Campus/Grant Park.
CTA TRAVEL INFORMATION
CTA Info On-the-Go
Park & Ride Facilities
To avoid traffic congestion, customers can combine the convenience of driving with the economical savings of public transit by using CTA Park & Ride facilities. Parking is available for approximately 6,000 cars at CTA’s 17 Park & Ride facilities, mainly at rail terminals, throughout the CTA system.
Fare Information
Bus customers who use CTA fare media pay $2.00 to ride. For rail customers or customers who pay cash on the bus, the fare is $2.25. Customers who use CTA fare media may transfer for a 25 cent fee. Transfers are not available for customers paying fares in cash. More information is available at:
Questions?
For details about all CTA service, call 312-836-7000 or visit the CTA website at
transitchicago.com.
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