Chicago 'L' service status
Which lines are running right now, and what to check before you leave the house.
Service monitoring
Chicago 'L' status
Service status · updated in real time
95th/Dan Ryan ↔ Howard
Forest Park ↔ O'Hare
Kimball ↔ the Loop
Harlem/Lake ↔ Ashland/63rd + Cottage Grove
Midway ↔ the Loop
Howard ↔ Linden
54th/Cermak ↔ the Loop
Dempster-Skokie ↔ Howard
How to check the 'L' before you travel
The board above tells you, at a glance and in Chicago time, whether each line is inside its operating hours — useful late at night, when the honest answer for six of the eight lines is “not running”.
For live disruptions — a signal failure, weekend track work, a station closure — CTA publishes alerts itself, and that is the authoritative source. This page is where to start; transitchicago.com/alerts is where to confirm.
Read the front of the train, not the compass
Downtown, Brown/Orange/Pink/Purple trains run around the Loop and back out the way they came, so 'northbound' means nothing there. On the Green Line south of Garfield, trains alternate between Ashland/63rd and Cottage Grove.
Changing lines is free
At an interchange you simply walk across — no second tap, no extra fare. Even leaving the system, you get two more rides free within two hours.
Two lines never close
Red and Blue run 24 hours. If it is 3am, those are your options — and the Blue Line goes to O'Hare.
State/Lake is shut until 2029
Use Washington/Wabash or Clark/Lake. Both are step-free.
Known long-term changes
| What | When | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| State/Lake closed | Since 5 Jan 2026 · until 2029 | Being rebuilt as a fully accessible station. Brown, Green, Orange, Pink and Purple Express trains pass through. Use Washington/Wabash or Clark/Lake. |
| Red and Purple Modernization | Ongoing | The North Side rebuild that produced the new Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn and Bryn Mawr stations — all four reopened 20 July 2025 and are now step-free. |
| Red Line Extension | Under construction | Four new stations south of 95th/Dan Ryan, extending the Red Line to 130th. Not yet open; the map shows it as under construction. |
| Forest Park Branch rebuild | Ongoing | Reconstruction of the Blue Line's western branch. Expect periodic weekend changes. |
Status questions
The board on this page shows each line against its real operating hours in Chicago time. The Red and Blue lines are always running. For live incidents, check CTA alerts.
The ‘L’ is over 130 years old in places and much of it is elevated steel that has to be maintained in place. CTA does most of that at weekends, which is when single-tracking and shuttle buses appear. It is normal, and it is announced in advance.
One: State/Lake, closed since 5 January 2026 and due back in 2029. Everything else on the network is open — including Berwyn, Lawrence, Argyle and Bryn Mawr, which reopened in July 2025 after their rebuild and which some maps and guides still show as closed.