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Article: Skokie Swift line to get more reliable, a little faster Overhead electrical cables being scrapped in favor of third rail
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- July 29, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2004 Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
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The old overhead electrical lines that power the CTA's Skokie
Swift branch will soon be relegated to Chicago rail history as the
authority prepares to switch the line over to third-rail power.
Crews this week are expected to lay the last of 23,000 feet of new
third rail on the line, which cuts through south Evanston and Skokie.
Next month, trains will begin testing it out in advance of a complete
switchover this fall.
The $6.3 million project lays the groundwork for a potential
expansion of the branch, also called the Yellow Line, to the Old
Orchard shopping center -- a dream that lacks federal funding and is
still years away if approved.
For commuters, the immediate benefits of the third ...