CTA Red Line Extension

The Red Line Extension (RLE) project is a proposed 5.6-mile extension of the Red Line, south of 95th Street Terminal to 130th Street at the city’s southern border. The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) will advance the project through the Federal Capital Investment Grant New Starts program. The project will reduce commute times, improve mobility and accessibility options, and create connections to other transportation modes for this area of the city.  

The RLE includes four new passenger stations with associated parking, a full-service maintenance yard, and bus layover and parking structures at the two southernmost stations. The new stations will be catalysts for neighborhood revitalization and economic development. The project is expected to spur the development of more livable, transit-supported communities and help reverse decades of disinvestment in local business districts.  

As part of the Final EIS, TYLin will investigate and develop final technical memorandums on traffic, noise, and vibration. In addition, the TYLin team will complete the hazardous site assessment for the selected route, develop the conceptual design, prepare a construction cost estimate, and define the scope of work for a design-build procurement.  

TYLin will also deliver the final track geometry, select a structure type for the base design, plan and program four stations, provide specifications for multi-story parking garages, and provide programming for the new maintenance yard and facility. 

The RLE project should yield a 46% increase in newly accessible jobs within a one-hour hour commute of the project area. These economic benefits could be life-altering to historically underinvested and disproportionately low-income and minority communities in Chicago's Far South Side District.  

The RLE is targeted for operation in 2029. 

Project Highlights:

• As part of the preliminary engineering, TYLin is providing limits of roadway improvements, utility identification and relocation coordination, traction power and substation design, and systems design. 
• TYLin is collaborating with a consultant focused on Transit Oriented Development to ensure the proposed improvements accommodate targeted goals for investment opportunities.  
• The project highlights TYLin’s commitment to achieving sustainable transportation that improves air quality, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and saves energy. 
• This project will deliver affordable rapid transit to historically underserved communities and improve mobility for transit-dependent residents and people with disabilities. 
• The RLE will provide connectivity and access to the entire city via the CTA network. 
• TYLin is developing the designs in accordance with Federal Transit Administration (FTA) guidelines and CTA policies and standards.