I love the red line and I hate it. I love it because it's super fast and it's pretty much a straight shot from Belmont to Lake. I can get from State/Lake to Belmont in 15 minutes or so if nothing is wrong. I hate the pee smell on the trains. I also have noticed a lot of homeless people soliciting for coin. I thought that was illegal on the CTA? I wish this could get under control because you never know if they will go crazy and try to take your purse! read more

The Red Line may be all revamped NOW.... AFTER 5 YEARS. I'm specifically talking about the Fullerton station that was the bane of my existence while at college. Seriously, thanks a lot Red Line for being the most inefficient train line for the entire time I lived in Chicago. It would take me LITERALLY 30-40 minutes to go 4 stops. Driving it took me 7 minutes. Of course it's insane to have a car in Chicago but the Red Line made me question just how crazy it actually was what with all the time I wasted through my insane commute times. From what I understand half of the stops STLL look like crap. At least tourists coming up for Cubs games can think the Red Line is a good reflection of the amazing CTA. Holy crap, is this what the Sheridan station looks like now? http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3113/3235076100_d2a97f1543.jpg NEW DOORS??? Wow. You guys have really stepped it up. I'm sure the inside still looks worse than bum city. read more

Everything leads to the Red Line. When people ask me for directions, I tell them to take a bus/cab/walk/run/bike it to the Red Line, and it will get you to where you wanna go. Northside, Southside...it doesn't matter. Green, Blue, Brown...all confusing unless you take them everyday. I like my commute simple, and the Red Line is as simple as it gets! About the nasty smells, every L train has that same appealing order. The bum on the Purple Line in Evanston does his business just like the bum on the Red Line 95th Street stop. It can't be avoided, get used to it! read more

I am torn about my review for the CTA red line. On one hand, how can you rate a train line that is so full of interesting characters, seedy happenings, and interesting aromas? On the other hand, it is also a tremendous life line for the city and spans the whole city from north to south, making it one of the most useful lines there are. It also happens to be my primary mode of transportation. However, I am still shocked at the amount of times that it never shows up, or the inconsistencies with wait times and travel times due to unexpected delays in the crazy, mixed up world that is the CTA Signals (which we are perpetually waiting for ahead) I went straight middle of the road with you red line. Our love hate relationship is as strong as ever and I will, of course, see you tomorrow. read more

I'll keep it simple... 1) Runs alot straight from north to south, hitting where one needs to go on the east side of town at all hours of the day and night. 2) Often smells so much like urine, feces, and B.O. that your sinuses will get an immediate detox from your nose running and eyes watering. What would we do without our Red Line? read more

the FREAK LINE! That said, I love the CTA, despite it's faults, and ride it every day. I don't own a car.

I have a love hate relationship with the CTA. I need it to get to work in the morning and on weekends take me shopping, but I hate sitting in it for about an hour to get to my destination. Often times I end up getting some person who hasn't showered in weeks sitting next to me and is also jabbering on their phone as if nobody else is around. Other times I hear someone's music from across the train car and wonder when they're going to go deaf. The CTA in general is really slow, and inefficient. The red line is always filled with random sketchy people and on top of that there are tons of people who insist on either disgusting me with their throat clearing in the morning or finger nail clippings. People are just insanely rude on the Red Line. A bunch of the CTA Red Line stops are STILL under renovation, such as Belmont...I wonder when that's ever going to get finished. I do enjoy the fact that it is an option when I have to get into the city from the burbs, but I'd rather be a better option to take me from my house to the heart of the city. read more

This line has been my lifeline whenever I've gone home (Uptown) for years. It's the only line that connects both sides of the city. I can go from Evergreen Plaza, to Loyola if I needed to. I've never had to rent a car when I've come to town because the red line gets me downtown from Argyle station fast. Granted, during construction, it's slooooooow. But that's during construction. More times than not, it runs just fine. So with the savings on a rental car, mixed with the ease and speed of the line, it's the way to go in Chicago. read more

Ohhhh, Red Line. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. You are fast and convenient. If I miss a train, I only have to wait about five minutes for another to come along. You are a classic, right up there with black and white movies and paying a nickle for a cup of coffee. My grandparents rode on you to get to work, and now I am following in their footsteps. Your outdoor stops have ltitle heated nooks with benches so I don't freeze to death in the winter. I can smugly sit back and watch all the frustrated cars crawling by on the Dan Ryan. But yet, Red Line, I hate you. You smell like piss and there are always people harrassing me for money. If I don't give them money, another concerned citizen takes it upon themselves to shout at me on their behalf. Half the time someone is smoking crack in the back car. I once witnessed a lady vomiting on your floor. A majority of your setas are wet and creepy. Oh, did I mention you smell like piss? Except I always find myself crawling back to you. You are just so convenient, Red Line, so fast and easy, and I can't stop myself from loving you, bad habits and flaws and all. Now if someone would just renovate your stations and maybe Lysol your seats a couple thousand times, that would be great. read more

The Red Line is why Keanu Reeves is sad. True, by riding the Red Line you'll shrink your carbon footprint by not driving. The reason, however, is after getting assaulted at the Wilson station, you'll be left unable to operate a car. And although the Red Line is open 24/7, like the free market or sleeping with your ex, this is only a good idea in theory. The swath of prostitutes and drug dealers who emerge in the wee hours make you consider how much you really want a 3 AM burrito from 7-11 if it goes through the Red Line. The riders are equal train wrecks. There are many homeless, whose stench ("smellnado" as I call it) could set off a car alarm. Lice use special shampoo to avoid getting them. Then there are those riders whose cabooses spill over into a second seat -- putting the "mass" in "mass transit" if you will (They're not called heavy sleepers because they snore). I see these marshmallowy monstrosities lumbering down the aisle and I ask myself, who chose the form of the destructor when commanded by Gozar, and where are Winston, Ray, Egon, and Venkman when you need them? It's the true CTA-holes who bother me the worst, like those who insist on putting their beat-up, reusable grocery bag on the seat next to them. Careful when telling them to "get that old bag out of the seat" that there are no people over 65 in the vicinity. For security, the CTA installed cameras on all Red Line trains and stations. Don't you feel safe?? We've already seen how well the CTA maintains turn-styles, tracks, and escalators. Has the escalator at the Chicago Ave. station EVER worked? I've been moved more by Weekend at Bernie's movies. And God help you if you ever have to use a CTA station bathroom, I mean elevator. In the wild, animals mark territory with their spray, so in those terms, hundreds lay daily claim to the elevator floor, several to the floor "1" and "2" buttons, and one limber bastard even claimed part of the ceiling. Lastly, can we invest some of the fare hikes in upgrading the dilapidated Sheridan station? Granted, it has held up amazingly well considering it was built from the timbers of Noah's Arc by indentured labor. Too bad Moses had to free his people before they could finish the job. Forest Claypool, the head of the CTA, only used public transport 6 times last year. How much faith can we invest in a system that the boss doesn't even use? Would you go to a tanning salon owned by an albino? Would you visit an abortion doctor if he had 12 kids? Thus, for this and many other reasons, CTA, I give you a CTF. read more

The longest, fastest moving fart odor in the city of Chicago.

Reviewing Red line is hard, since it would be like reviewing your crazy schizophrenic uncle: he's crazy, smelly, loud,but he is family, and you can't get rid of him. I used to take it since I was 17, going either downtown to play in the orchestra, or to Belmont station, where I used to work. I guess red Line was sorta like a character building bootcamp, through which if you go successfully, you can do everything. Granted, today we have 2 tirls 1 cup to keep us entertained, but back in the day, I had to get my daily fix of schocking visuals through taking the L at 10pm. Proudly, I can say I have seen it all: a homeless guy jerking his gerkin, a nasty woman licking her fingers and wiping them on a window, guys with little cups that fish out naive passerbys, offering 20 bux for guessing which cup a little ball is located under, old pervy men, loud high school kids, enormous weave owners, hookers, women that look like hookers, a woman that plays a violin while playin a drum with her foot,etc. you name it, and it probably exists in the bowels of Red Line. Ofcourse, god forbid you get lost, because you have better chances of satan helping you out than the booth officials, who are usually busy picking their teeth with their talons, and talkin to each other about newst styles in urban hairdesign. In the summer, the place smells like a mix of fast food, urine, cheap cologne, and BO. So it is perfect for people with fetishes for any of those, or a combination. Oh, well, one thing that came out of me riding the CTA is meeting my husband, whom I met on Fullerton stop and who skipped his stop to follow me to the parking lot at night. So I guess I owe my marriage to the Red Line, which wamrs my heart :) Overall, its quite an experience. read more

Occasionally you'll see some Rottweiler police dogs trying to bust drug deals or so, but no big deal lol. I take the red line almost everyday and it's a great way to get around the city fast. In the morning it's madness because all the business and students are taking it and so you have to travel at their speed and squeeze inside yourself into the train. Just make sure you hear the conductor call out your stop, don't want to miss it and get off your wrong stop :/. read more

Well... it's less than two blocks from my apartment, which makes it my L of choice. I get nauseated when it goes underground, though... ugh. read more

It used to be that you would run into the occasional annoying, belligerent, rude, loud person on the red line and would just hope it wouldn't happen again soon. Now, you are lucky to run into the occasional car that ISN'T full of annoying, belligerent, rude, loud people. And the announcements mean nothing. No eating, drinking or soliciting? What a joke. CTA, either have rules that benefit everyone and enforce them or just spare us the robotic announcements and acknowledge what the red line is - a fend-for-yourself free-for-all. read more

I pretty much hate it. Although it is more cost efficient than driving everyday and paying $3.50+ per gallon of gas and $20 a day to park in the loop. However, it's dirty, always stalls in the morning, and some of the drivers are worse than cab drivers!! Accelerate, SLAM ON THE BRAKES, Accelerate FASTER, SLAM ON THE BRAKES HARDER!! Everday I'm afraid it's going to derail, well I guess I should be happy I'm not riding the blue line, huh? read more

Oddly enough, despite the total grossness of the trains, I'm giving this more stars than the purple line simply because at least this line, you know, runs. You can actually get one of these babies in less than 15 minutes. read more

I give my beloved red a five for one and one reason only... On St. Patty's day, I think I met the spirit of the saint reincarnated in a 50-something, large, black man with some sort of personality disorder. What leads me to think that he was somehow the reincarnated saint is his zealous jamming to his tape (yes, folks, a cassette) of fabulous 80's tunes and his rousing rendition of "Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad Boys... They made him feel so good." which, consequently drove the drunkards off the train leaving only him and me to ride our way home. Cheers to you, St. Pat, cheers to you. read more

ugh. i've seen way too many people clip their fingernails on the red line. how dare you think it is okay to do something like that while sitting a mere few inches away from someone else. it get's two stars for *have escalators at the stations I use and *getting me where I need to go - somewhat on time read more

I hate waiting for the red line. especially after just getting out of a show where you've been standing for 3+ hours and all you want to do is sit down. However, it's given me enough crazy stories that I can't help but appreciate it and it's strange ways. There was... - the time I had to babysit wasted cubs fans to their stop as they drunkenly examined my dreads and asked if I'd run away from home. - the time my friend started talking to this homeless guy and ended up paying him a couple bucks for a story he wrote for us. - And of course the time my roomate, another friend and I, all college freshman, all having been in the city for only about 2 months, decided to go to chinatown at midnight. Now, mind you, we didn't get there at midnight, we left at midnight. Soo by the time we got there it was creeping on one. We witnessed our waiter trading drugs for gold jewelry outside the restaurant, and a lady trying to sell a vacuum. But that was nothing compared with what awaited us on the journey back home. Upon arriving on the platform, the assorted dudes there remarked "you girls is craazy, i wouldn't come here without my momma" Once our beloved train arrived, we gratefully entered, happy to be heading back..5 minutes later, some dude comes walking through the cars, and as he walks past us, he randomly hits the girl across from us in the head. She pushes him back. He keeps walking, then turns around and pushes her again. This time she gets up and chases him to the end of the car, hitting him as she goes. Keep in mind that there were no indications whatsoever that they knew each other. Confused, the three of us kind of stare at the ground. Overcome by curiousity, I look up for a second, only to see the two of them making out like the train's about to crash. There is a silent, collective "what the fuck?!" on all of our faces. We disembark, unable to process anything. read more

I don't care about the smells, the panhandlers, the people who walk from car to car, the run-down stations, the poor lighting, the rickety platforms, the disgruntled CTA employees, the uneven stairways, the overcrowded trains late at night, or the bums who ask me to "get'm on dat trayun." I don't even care that some of the train operators are slower than a retarded goose trying to learn math. I wasn't born in Chicago, and I've spent the majority of my life without access to public transportation, so the only options I had were to drive or call a taxi. So the fact that I can hop on the train and get to where I need to be is something I can really appreciate. Despite the red line's shortcomings, it's made my life so much easier that I can't imagine going back to living without it. read more

Oh Red Line, without you I never would have known what it was like to sit in human piss and then have the wet pants of shame for the rest of the day. Everyday riding with you is an adventure. The clientele is like watching the Jerry Springer show, complete with baby mama drama. And if you're into that sort of thing, there's even the local masterbater on board who always seems to find me. Never on time when you really need to go somewhere, Red Line you're a slacker. But you're the best we have and how can I hate you when you take me from school, to Chinatown dinner and summertime Sox games. read more

Also smells like pee like virtually every single line, besides the Yellow line (ironically) and the Purple line every so often. The Red line has like 1000 stops during the non-express times however, it is noticably faster than the Blue line, which is not hard to accomplish. I haven't compared the relative mileage difference between the two lines, but I'm assuming they are comparable. Honestly, I pay a MUCH MUCH reduced rate for riding the trains because I get a pretty sweet student discount so I feel bad for complaining. Oh, who am I kidding. No I don't. I don't feel bad for complaining. Especially since CTA raised fares another 25 cents. Why? Do their trains still stink both in the literal and figurative sense? YES. I don't see what has changed. read more

I swear lately it's been 15 minutes from the loop to Sheridan! I don't know what they did to fix it, but it worked.

The Red line has probably the most diverse ridership of the CTA's rail lines, on any given ride you are likely to see the wealthy, yuppies, druggies, drunks, thugs, puddles of human vomit/waste, etc. Trains on this line tend to run frequently & quickly, except when the aging train cars catch fire (which does seem to happen with disturbing frequency...) read more

Bored on a Friday Night? Ride the Red-Line, you'll find something interesting.

This is the way to go to US Cellular Field. This is the way to go from the train station to Wrigley Field. I have tried to allow my kids to experience the CTA, Metra and many things authentic to the city experience so that they learn this part of life. They have learned to appreciate public transportation and urban life. They know how to navigate good versus bad neighborhoods and I am grateful that they have embraced our excursions to the beautiful city of Chicago. read more

I'm at this stop more than any other. Sure there's construction, but it's not as bad as other stops. It doesn't smell bad, and it gets the job done. Plus, I thinks it's a nice touch to have some red neon above the entrance (I think it's more aesthetic than utility.) it's usually clean, and the staff is usually nice. read more

CTA has two things going for it. 1. Affordable 2. You can go anywhere in the city. As long as you don't mind sitting next to a homeless person, riding in filth, long transit times and delays. And don't expect any CTA employee to ever help you. They look at you like you just spoke to them in a foreign language and walk away. I mean they are the most Ghetto people I have ever encountered. If you need any help look around the station and ask anyone else but them! DC Metro system is far superior and the employees can actually communicate. read more

The delays in the morning are unreal. I['ve started switching to the Purple Line, which is generally cleaner and aren't delayed. From Belmont to Lake took less than 30 minutes. Beats the Red line, which has sometimes taken upwards of 45 minutes. The drivers are nuts most of the time. I'm always crashing into people due to the slamming of breaks. read more

If it wasn't for the events of this morning, I would have given the redline a four. However, this morning two express trains in a row arond 8:30am pissed me off. I understand that CTA has a schedule to keep but at the expense of your paying customers? I am at the Argyle station which is only 8 stops from Howard. How can two trains in a row be off schedule that much that fast? Seriously! This is even more unexeptable when one sees the two expresses go by with very few people on the trains. What a waste of energy. Usually, the redline is pretty good minus the poor breaking at the stations that about give you whiplash. This was a sad day for the redline. read more

This train is efficient in getting from the north (and south) to downtown. However, it's often times the most disgusting and unkempt train, as are it's passengers. Vagrants/crazy/drunk people yelling at passengers, odors of urine and worse are abundant, the seats are often dirty and full of leftover food or garbage. The redline Chicago stop seems to have gotten better, however it's winter so we'll see what summer holds. In the summer, the CPD do a great job of patrolling this area and making sure it's safe for all of the students and tourists. Make sure you use your electronics discretely on any CTA vessel, especially the redline, and if it's past 10PM, just take a cab to your destination. read more

As apalling experiences I've had with the Red Line - I'm grateful for the fact that they run 24-7 and they run south to Chinatown (yum) and Comiskey (refuse to call it by their new name) and even further south and up north to the Cubs and all the way up to Howard. A bit dirtier than the other lines but it's probably one of the most used lines. read more

I'm grateful for this train because I don't have to have a car and drive downtown to class, so I don't want to whine too much. But it is definitely claustrophobic! I spent so much time smashed against the wall the other day that I think my internal organs shifted in new positions! I live in Edgewater, so luckily once we get past Addison, it clears out some. And no, chivalry does not apply on here. It's crazy to see all these able bodied big men sitting down comfortably as young barely 5 feet girls and older ladies are standing up for the next 4 stops. read more

FantasticWe came to Chicago in August to go to a couple Cubs/Reds games and stayed downtown. We decided to try to Red Line to get to Wrigley. I loved it. The train dropped us off right by Wrigley and it made it easy to get in and out. There is no way I would park near the stadium nad try to leave it looks like it would be impossible. THe train seems to be the way to go. Buying a ticket was easy and understanding the systems seems easy. I would suggest taking the train to anyone. read more

The ride is $2.25 and I love it. It's generally pretty quick and a great way to save money. Took the red line to Wrigley today and it was a good experience. It was obviously packed because I was going to a Cubs game but everything that was under CTA's control was good. I will definitely ride again when its not convenient for me to take a car. read more

I was gonna give this line a bad review but then I thought of my other experiences in other lines. Compared to them, this one isn't so bad and it leads to everywhere you wanna get to in Chicago in one bus transfer most of the times. Whoever thought of the concept of the red line is a genius really. I it can crappy sometimes, and it smells like piss and I read a headline on ABC that some guy got stabbed a couple weeks ago. I never feel safe on this line at any time of day. The reroutes must have been crazy for a lot of people, good thing its not my primary form of commute. But I've experienced the green line, the blue line, and the pink line. I've literally waited on the blue line going southbound from Irving park and watched three trains go northbound before a southbound one came. There's no traffic, what the hell is the holdup? I can literally jog faster than this train goes sometimes, its ridiculous. So for that reason the red line gets an A-OK from me. read more

It takes you where you need to get. No complain. Other than it smells like piss sometimes, bad luck. It runs frequent.

Ooo red line...where do I begin? Riding in the red line is more of a necessary evil then an enjoyable experience. Today I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that they had redone the cars. Whether or not this has anything to do with the recent bed bug outbreak I can't say. Anyways, it was nice that it was redone but still contained some of the resident weirdos. read more

I know.....everybody hates the Red Line. But to me, it's the best line in chicago, and a whole lot better than what some other cities got going. I try to adapt and travel at off peak hours. I tolerate the weekend reroutes on the el brown line tracks from Cermak to Fullerton as they continue with the upgrades. I tolerate the pee smell and the drunks. The fact is....this route is the most convenient, most accessible to many city spots that I don't know what I would do without it. I am a fan and a loyal customer to the red line. read more