Chicago: South-leg Red Line commuters in for smooth ride Monday after five-month rebuild

(Chicago Tribune) Thousands of commuters will board the CTA Red Line along the Dan Ryan branch Monday for the first time in five months after a massive rebuild that will also deliver something its riders haven’t experienced in decades: zero slow zones.

Trains along the south leg of the Red Line will operate at regular, posted speeds of up to 55 mph along the whole 10-mile stretch for the first time since shortly after its 1969 debut — without the bumpy, jerky ride that even longtime riders could not ignore.

“The train glides,” said Yvonne Marshall, 19, a student at Kennedy-King College, who rode the train Sunday, the day it went back into service. “You don’t need to hold on (to the grab bars) like you used to do.”

That’s 14,255 linear track feet of smooth running, barring any problems. Almost half of the branch was mired in slow zones before work began to rip out the old tracks and replace them with a rail bed that can accommodate up to 70 mph trains, if the CTA ever decides to operate such service. ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-10-20/news/chi-red-line-south-branch-to-reopen-early-sunday-20131018_1_cta-red-line-south-branch-riders