Foster (CTA station)

Foster
Location	900 Foster Street Evanston, Illinois 60201
Coordinates
Owned by	Chicago Transit Authority
Line(s)
Platforms	1 Island platform
Tracks	2
Connections	CTA bus
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
History
Opened	January 6, 1909
Rebuilt	1931
Traffic
Passengers (2014)	272,856  2.3%
Rank	137 out of 143
Services
Preceding station   Chicago "L"   Following station Noyes toward Linden Purple Line Davis toward Howard or The Loop
Route map Legend Purple Line north to Linden Hamlin St. File:BSicon exleer+BSr.svg File:BSicon exleer+BSr.svg North Shore Line platform removed 1970 File:BSicon exleer+BSr.svg Foster St. Purple Line south to Howard or Loop

Foster is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system, on the Purple Line in Evanston, Illinois. It is located at 900 Foster Street (directional coordinates 2000 north, 900 west), just a few blocks west of Northwestern University's Evanston campus.

History

Structure

Like the rest of the 'L' tracks north of the Wilson station, Foster is elevated on a solid fill embankment, unlike the steel structure commonly associated with the 'L'. It lacks a formal station house; two staircases on the south side of Foster Street lead up to a small area containing a customer assistant's booth, a farecard vending machine, and two turnstiles. The island platform is composed of concrete and stretches north from the station entrance, covered by a canopy its entire length. Southbound trains stop on the west side of the platform, while northbound trains stop at the east part. The platform can only accommodate six-car trains because the north tip of the platform has been removed, although its framing and canopy are still in place.

Former service

Foster was served by trains of the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad on the Shore Line Route. Like Noyes and Central, Foster had an additional side platform to the west of the southbound track for exclusive use of the North Shore Line, to prevent disembarking customers from transferring to 'L' trains for free. The platform was removed sometime after the North Shore Line ceased operations over this section of the rapid transit system in 1955, but its concrete footings can still be seen opposite the current platform north of Foster Street.

Modernization

Closure of the Foster station (along with South Boulevard) is proposed in of three of the CTA's six potential options for the renovation of the Purple Line and northern section of the Red Line.

External links

• Foster Station Page at Chicago-L.Org
• Train schedule (PDF) at CTA official site
• Foster Station Page CTA official site
• Foster Street entrance from Google Maps Street View