4 Red Line stations set to resume service Sunday

CHICAGO (WGN) – CTA riders and nearby North Side businesses are counting down the hours to the reopening of four Red Line stations Sunday.

CTA riders WGN-TV spoke with said they are excited their local station is back in service and in much better condition.

“Two years of construction here. It was worth every boom, bang,” CTA rider Amy Banis said.

Crews were seen Saturday afternoon making finishing touches to the platform ahead of the CTA reopening four Red Line train stations on Sunday morning.

“I live right here, just a couple of blocks away and this is amazing. I’ve been waiting for about two years now, I think,” CTA rider Ray Rodriguez said.

As part of the first phase of the city’s Red and Purple Modernization Project, four train stations received a makeover. Riders can look forward to improvements at the Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn and Bryn Mawr stops.

Each station now has new elevators, wider platforms and modern turnstiles along with better lighting, signage and security cameras.

“It’ll be nice just to have an overall brighter area and feel safer as well, especially in some of these unlit areas,” CTA rider Sophia Hubler said.

Riders added they are looking forward to getting to their destinations faster and seeing how the influx of people will help businesses.

“What’s cool about it is there’s a lot of the smaller local businesses that closed down because there’s less foot traffic from the train, so I’m excited to see if it’s going to bring those businesses back locally,” CTA rider Scott Rakoczy said.

The reopening of the Lawrence station even prompted the owners of Uptown Lounge to extend their business hours.

“When the Red Line closed down, it really affected business. It took a downturn and then COVID happened,” Julie Clarkson-Stokes of Uptown Lounge said.

For over 20 years, the bar has catered to the late night crowd. Starting Monday, the business will be open as a coffee shop in the morning.

“I don’t think we’d be talking about coffee in the morning without this, because this is going to be completely dependent on people commuting to work every morning,” Clarkson-Stokes said.