SUBSTATIONS
CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY
With the elimination of streetcars and trolleybuses, the rapid transit system is now the only electric powered transit. All substations are now owned by CTA, and by the early 1970's all rotary converters were replaced with rectifiers for conversion to direct current.
1983 SUBSTATION LIST
Substations from a 1983 CTA list. Where known, opening dates are in parentheses.
- Broadway 5847 N. Broadway (1911/modernized 1967)
- Bryn Mawr 7330 W. Higgins Ave. (1983)
- Calvary 200 Chicago Ave./Evanston (around mid 1970's)
- Clark 3360 N. Clark St. (1972)
- Clifton 1058 W. Montrose Ave. (around mid 1970's)
- Cottage Grove 862 E. 63rd St. (1972)
- Cumberland 5660 N. Cumberland Ave. (1983)
- Desplaines 711 S. Desplaines Ave./Forest Park (by early 1980's)
- Douglas 2011-15 S. Western Ave. (by early 1980's)
- East Lake 10 E. Lake St. (1929)
- Edmunds 5500 W. Edmunds St. (1970)
- Franklin 321 S. Franklin St. (1918/modernized 1968)
- Gage 9570 W. Gage St./Rosemont (1983)
- Harding 1926 S. Harding Ave. (around 1980's)
- Harlem 1 S. Harlem Ave./Forest Park (1964)
- Haymarket 125 N. Desplaines Ave. (around mid 1970's)
- Hermitage 619 S. Hermitage Ave. (1914/modernized early 1970's)
- Illinois 152 W. Illinois St. (1910/modernized 1967)
- Kedvale 4120 W. Irving Park Rd. (1969)
- Kedzie 3200 W. Harrison St. (by early 1980's)
- Kolmar 614 S. Kolmar Ave. (1915/modernized 1970's/replaced 1980)
- Lincoln 2560 N. Lincoln Ave. (1969)
- Lotus 342 N. Lotus Ave. (1968)
- Milwaukee 1078 N. Milwaukee Ave. (1970's)
- Nagle 6223 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. (1983)
- Noyes 837 Noyes St./Evanston
- O'Hare 11601 W. Touhy Ave. (1984)
- Princeton 258 W. 63rd St. (1962)
- Ravenswood 4650 N. Lincoln Ave. (1913/modernized 1969)
- Ridgeland 328 Garfield St./Oak Park (by early 1980's)
- Sacramento 2420 N. Sacramento Ave. (1969)
- Sedgwick 1537 N. Hudson Ave. (1914/modernized 1967)
- Skokie 4859 Lee St./Skokie
- Springfield 3910-28 W. Lake St. (around mid 1970's)
- State 1235 S. State St. (1933)
- Western 201 N. Western Ave. (early 1970's)
- 20th 2001 S. Dearborn St. (1905/modernized 1966)
- 42nd 4200 S. Wabash Ave. (1907/modernized 1966)
- 54th 2134 S. 54th Ave./Cicero (by early 1980's)
- E. 63rd 6249 S. Prairie Ave.
- 79th 102 W. 79th St. (1969)
- 95th 9540 S. Lafayette Ave. (1969)
The 20th and 42nd substations were replaced with newer substations along the Red Line.
NEWER CTA SUBSTATIONS
Where known, opening dates are in parentheses.
Orange Line
The 1993 opening of the CTA line to Midway Airport included eight new substations.
- 18th 1714 S. Wabash Ave.
- Canal 2213 S. Canal St.
- Ashland 3055 S. Ashland Ave.
- Archer 3750 S. Archer Ave.
- 48th Place 2311 W. 48th Pl.
- Kedzie 4838 S. Kedzie Ave.
- Keeler 5159 S. Keeler Ave.
- Midway 4642 W. 58th St.
Red Line (Dan Ryan)
Three new substations replaced two older substations originally constructed for the streetcar system.
- 27th 201 W. 27th St. (around mid 1980's)
- 39th 3944 S. Wentworth Ave. (around 2006)
- 50th 5014 S. Wells St. (around 2005)
In addition, plans are to replace the Illinois substation with a new Hubbard substation, located at Hubbard St. and Franklin St.
Additional New Substations
- 35th Street 3521 S. State St. (by 1990's/Green Line)
- Hamlin (1999/at Skokie Shops)
- 17th Street 1717 W. 17th St. (around 2004/Pink Line)
- Farwell 1401 W. Farwell Ave. (2014/Red Line)
Blue Line (O'Hare)
With ridership growths, along with the introduction of newer high performance cars, additional new substations were constructed.
- Damen 2023 W North Ave. (2025)
- Barry 3401 W Barry Ave. (2025)