Lines

The Chicago Transit Authority tweeted around 8:45 a.m. Monday that Brown and Purple Line Express trains are experiencing a delay due to a sick passenger near Chicago.

Careful where you swing those grocery bags, buddy. A commute on the CTA's Blue Line can get crowdy and bumpy. When a 61-year-old man riding the train knocked into a man with his bags of groceries and stepped on his foot Tuesday, the man turned violent, state prosecutors said. Richard Scruggs, 28, of the 2300 block of West Van Burent Street, allegedly got into a fistfight with the man over the bump, after both of them exited the train at the Illinois Medical District stop. The men exchanged blows, according to the police report.

Starting Sunday, CTA riders will be able to transfer for free between the Lake Red Line and Washington Blue Line stations, the CTA announced Wednesday. CTA riders with a farecard currently pay 25 cents, the standard transfer fare, to travel between the stations using the pedway in the lower level of the Block 37 shopping center. The CTA has long talked about making this a free transfer point for riders. The CTA said it is making this change in correlation with the southern Red Line project, during which the CTA will close stations south of Roosevelt Road for five...

A good sign: The CTA learned its lesson from past projects and updated much of the signage for the southern Red Line reconstruction project, making it easier for riders to commute on Monday, the first weekday of the five-month initiative. The CTA replaced maps in its train cars to reflect the nine South Side stations not in service during the track overhaul project, which formally launched Sunday, and the corresponding shuttle bus pickups. Train tracker and trains themselves were properly labeled with their destination.

Leave your answer in the comments box, and you might find yourself in a future issue of RedEye. Follow @redeyesportsguy for daily details about Five on Five openings. 1. The Bears are 5-3. How do you feel? 2. Matt Forte fumbling twice in one game is like … 3. Angry Jay Cutler vs. mopey Jay Cutler. Discuss. 4. What are the criteria for the “best butt in football”? 5. Why is Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville shuffling his lines?

Typically, the CTA asks for your attention (please), but now you've got theirs. Hearings about the 2012 CTA budget—which calls for management reductions but no service cuts or fare hikes to close a $277 million shortfall—start this week. Riders will be able to voice their concerns about any transit issues to the CTA board on Wednesday at Westinghouse High School, 3223 W. Franklin Blvd. Two budget meetings are scheduled for next week. When fare hikes and service cuts are on the table, riders pack these meetings and protesters bang drums outside CTA headquarters on the Near West Side.

The CTA tweeted around 3:43 p.m. May 29 that the Brown, Purple, and Red Line trains are experiencing delays due to fire department activity near Fullerton. The building, Roy's Home Furnishings, 2455 North Sheffield Ave., was "totally involved," with heavy smoke and fire damage, according to the Chicago Fire Department . As a result, southbound Red, Brown and Purple line trains are being turned back north at Belmont, and northbound trains are being turned back south at Armitage, a CTA spokeswoman told the Chicago Tribune . Bus shuttles are being set up and...

The beginning of the Blue Line saw the beginning of a fare increase Monday. Riders who load up their card with cash saw the price of their Blue Line ride from O'Hare jump from $2.25 to $5 as part of CTA fare hikes that took effect Monday. The increase does not apply to riders with daily, weekly or monthly unlimited ride passes. Chicago Card users who pay per ride will not see the increase until this summer. In the meantime, the CTA is working with O'Hare employees to encourage them to buy unlimited passes so they won't pay $5 fares every time they leave O'Hare.

As an astute anthropological observer of the bar scene ecosystem, I find there's no more curious, frustrating or irrational a phenomenon than the ultra-long bar line. To be sure, normally I am not the type of person to wait in an ultra-long bar line because to do so is a stupid waste of time. This is Chicago, a city with more neighborhood and dive bars per square mile than anywhere else in the world (that may or may not be true, but it feels right). You can't walk outside your door without being inside a bar. So the idea that a bunch of us Chicagoans are going...

Here comes the pain - but not the train. It's finally arrived, CTA riders. The CTA on Sunday will shut down the Red Line between Cermak-Chinatown and 95th Street for five months to overhaul the track. The agency is offering various alternatives from free shuttle buses to rerouted Red Line trains on Green Line tracks. Avoid the Red-ache. Going Public has your last-minute checklist for surviving the Dread Line. > > Take a test run. Now is the time to practice your commute if you can. Don't get caught Monday without an idea of how to get where you need to go. The CTA has...

Starting Sunday, CTA riders will be able to transfer for free between the Lake Red Line and Washington Blue Line stations, the CTA announced Wednesday. CTA riders with a farecard currently pay 25 cents, the standard transfer fare, to travel between the stations using the pedway in the lower level of the Block 37 shopping center. The CTA has long talked about making this a free transfer point for riders. The CTA said it is making this change in correlation with the southern Red Line project, during which the CTA will close stations south of Roosevelt Road for five...

Here comes the pain - but not the train. It's finally arrived, CTA riders. The CTA on Sunday will shut down the Red Line between Cermak-Chinatown and 95th Street for five months to overhaul the track. The agency is offering various alternatives from free shuttle buses to rerouted Red Line trains on Green Line tracks. Avoid the Red-ache. Going Public has your last-minute checklist for surviving the Dread Line. > > Take a test run. Now is the time to practice your commute if you can. Don't get caught Monday without an idea of how to...

The CTA on Thursday will begin a seven-month project to ease slow zones along the Purple Line north of Howard Street. At 9 p.m. Thursday, CTA will begin the work that includes replacing 6,000 rail ties and eliminating nearly 1.3 miles of track-related slow zones. The $2 million construction project will take place between 9 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. during the week, and from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends. During night work, Purple Line trains in both directions will run on a single track.

A reader emailed Going Public last week with a unique complaint: There was too much CTA service. The reader said his 30-minute Wacker bus commute more than doubled as the CTA ran shuttle buses to replace Brown Line service to and from the Loop, which was suspended until Monday morning while the Chicago Department of Transportation overhauled the Wells Street Bridge. There were too many shuttle buses, which clogged traffic and delayed other bus service, the reader complained. Many of the shuttle buses he spotted carried only a few riders, he said.

As the Redeye's Resident Geek, I always have a great time at C2E2, but this year promises to be the best ever! Not only will I get to enjoy the show as a fan, you know by checking out all the publishers, artists and costuming, I'll also be hosting a bunch of panels! Needless to say, I'm pretty excited about the people that the folks at C2E2 have me working with. Check out this rundown of where you'll be able to find me (and WATCH THE LIVESTREAM ON THE VIDEO PLAYER BELOW): Saturday Travel Channel's...

Perhaps it's time to take the "express" out of "Purple Line Express. " The Purple Line, which runs express between the Howard and Belmont stops during rush hour, has nearly double the amount of slow zones compared to the same time last year, according to a slow zone snapshot taken Tuesday. About 35,000 feet, or 36 percent, of the Purple Line is under slow zone, during which trains travel 35 miles per hour or slower. Nearly 19 percent of the Purple Line, about 19,000 feet, was under slow zone in April 2012.

What's black and white and red all over? The Red Line, which has been the star of CTA news recently. First, there was the announcement this summer that the Loyola stop will see a makeover. Next, the Wilson and Clark/Division stops were trumpeted for facelifts. Then, last week, officials reported $646 million in state funding to repair the southern portion of the Red Line, which has been plagued with slow zones, among other Red Line improvements. But the Red Line proposition that has stayed under the radar is the Red and Purple Line modernization project, a controversial set of six...

Starting next month, White Sox fans can look forward to a new lineup: Green Line, Metra, buses or driving. The southern section of the Red Line no longer will be part of a Sox fan's rotation. The CTA is scheduled to shut down the Red Line from Cermak-Chinatown to 95th Street, including the Sox-35th stop on May 19, affecting 62 of the Sox's 81 home games. The day after the start of the shutdown, May 20, the Sox host Boston. A week later, on May 27 and 28, the Sox will host the Cubs in a crosstown clash that used to be the battle of the Red Line.