Brown Line — Chicago 'L'
Kimball · 27 stations · every 5 minutes at rush hour
Above: Kimball station on the Brown Line · photo Pi.1415926535 · CC BY-SA 4.0
27
stations
47 min
end to end
5 min
at morning rush
Overnight break
service
About the Brown Line
The Brown Line — locals still call it the Ravenswood — runs from Kimball in Albany Park down through the North Side and around the Loop elevated. It is the most scenic ride on the network: almost the whole line is above the street, at roof height, and the Loop circuit takes you around the corners of downtown Chicago that appear on every postcard.
Unlike the Red and Blue lines it does close overnight. Trains circle the Loop and head back north, so ‘Loop-bound’ and ‘Kimball-bound’ are the directions to watch for rather than compass points.
The Brown Line has 27 stations and takes about 47 minutes end to end. 24 of its stations are step-free, and it meets another ‘L’ line at 15 of them.
Every Brown Line station, in order
Times are the cumulative journey from the first station, using the CTA timetable. A gold dot marks a station where you can change to another line.
How often Brown Line trains run
| When | Mon–Fri | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early morning 4:00–6:30 am | 12 min | 15 min | 15 min |
| Morning rush 6:30–9:30 am | 5 min | 11 min | 12 min |
| Midday 9:30 am–3:00 pm | 8 min | 8 min | 10 min |
| Afternoon rush 3:00–7:00 pm | 6 min | 8 min | 10 min |
| Evening 7:00–10:00 pm | 8 min | 10 min | 10 min |
| Late night 10:00 pm–4:00 am | 10 min | 10 min | 12 min |
Typical gap between trains in one direction, worked out from CTA's published timetable. Real gaps vary.
First and last Brown Line train
| Station | Mon–Fri | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kimball | 4:00 am – 1:00 am | 4:00 am – 1:30 am | 5:00 am – 1:30 am |
| Kedzie | 4:02 am – 2:19 am | 4:02 am – 2:49 am | 5:02 am – 2:49 am |
| Francisco | 4:03 am – 2:17 am | 4:03 am – 2:47 am | 5:03 am – 2:47 am |
| Rockwell | 4:05 am – 2:16 am | 4:05 am – 2:46 am | 5:05 am – 2:46 am |
| Western | 4:06 am – 2:14 am | 4:06 am – 2:44 am | 5:06 am – 2:44 am |
| Damen | 4:08 am – 2:13 am | 4:08 am – 2:43 am | 5:08 am – 2:43 am |
| Montrose | 4:09 am – 2:11 am | 4:09 am – 2:41 am | 5:09 am – 2:41 am |
| Irving Park | 4:11 am – 2:10 am | 4:10 am – 2:40 am | 5:10 am – 2:40 am |
| Addison | 4:12 am – 2:09 am | 4:11 am – 2:39 am | 5:11 am – 2:39 am |
| Paulina | 4:14 am – 2:08 am | 4:14 am – 2:37 am | 5:14 am – 2:38 am |
| Southport | 4:15 am – 2:06 am | 4:15 am – 2:35 am | 5:15 am – 2:36 am |
| Belmont | 4:17 am – 2:03 am | 4:17 am – 2:33 am | 5:17 am – 2:33 am |
| Wellington | 4:18 am – 2:01 am | 4:18 am – 2:31 am | 5:18 am – 2:31 am |
| Diversey | 4:20 am – 2:00 am | 4:20 am – 2:30 am | 5:20 am – 2:30 am |
| Fullerton | 4:22 am – 1:58 am | 4:22 am – 2:28 am | 5:22 am – 2:28 am |
| Armitage | 4:23 am – 1:56 am | 4:24 am – 2:26 am | 5:24 am – 2:26 am |
| Sedgwick | 4:27 am – 1:52 am | 4:27 am – 2:21 am | 5:27 am – 2:22 am |
| Chicago | 4:31 am – 1:49 am | 4:31 am – 2:19 am | 5:31 am – 2:19 am |
| Merchandise Mart | 4:33 am – 1:47 am | 4:34 am – 2:16 am | 5:34 am – 2:17 am |
| Washington/Wells | 4:36 am – 1:36 am | 4:36 am – 2:06 am | 5:36 am – 2:06 am |
| Quincy/Wells | 4:37 am – 1:37 am | 4:37 am – 2:07 am | 5:37 am – 2:07 am |
| LaSalle/Van Buren | 4:38 am – 1:39 am | 4:39 am – 2:08 am | 5:39 am – 2:09 am |
| Harold Washington Library-State/Van Buren | 4:39 am – 1:40 am | 4:40 am – 2:09 am | 5:40 am – 2:10 am |
| Adams/Wabash | 4:41 am – 1:41 am | 4:41 am – 2:11 am | 5:41 am – 2:11 am |
| Washington/Wabash | 4:42 am – 1:42 am | 4:42 am – 2:12 am | 5:42 am – 2:12 am |
| Clark/Lake | 4:44 am – 1:45 am | 4:45 am – 2:14 am | 5:45 am – 2:15 am |
Times are departures from that station, taken from CTA's timetable, and are the window in each direction combined.
Where you can change lines
Questions about the Brown Line
27 stations, running Kimball. End to end it takes about 47 minutes.
On weekdays the first trains leave around 4:00 am and the last around 2:19 am, varying by station — the further along the line, the later the last train passes. There is no overnight service; if you are out late, the Red and Blue lines run 24 hours. First and last train at every station.
$2.50, the same as every other ‘L’ line and the same however far you travel. Transfers to another line are free within two hours.
At 15 stations, including Belmont, Wellington, Diversey, Fullerton, Armitage, Sedgwick…. At all of them the change is inside the station: walk across, no second tap and no extra fare.
State/Lake closed on 5 January 2026 to be rebuilt as a fully accessible station, and is due to reopen in 2029. Trains pass through without stopping. Use Washington/Wabash or Clark/Lake instead — both are step-free and both are a short walk away.