Duckworth, Durbin Announce $100 Million to Improve Chicago’s Red and Purple Lines

[CHICAGO, IL] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced $100 million in continued federal funding to make safety and accessibility upgrades on the Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) red and purple lines. The CTA’s Red and Purple Modernization (RPM) Program will receive the funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Core Capacity Program, which is part of the Capital Investment Grants Program (CIG). The CIG provides roughly $2.3 billion each year to support streetcar, heavy rail, light rail, commuter rail, and bus rapid transit projects.

“Investments like these help rebuild Chicago’s public transit system, improve work commutes and create the good-paying jobs that grow our local economy,” Duckworth said. “I’ll keep working with Senator Durbin to modernize Chicago’s infrastructure and improve our state’s transportation systems for hardworking Illinoisans in every corner of the state.”

"Continuing to invest in Chicago's transportation infrastructure creates jobs, revitalizes neighborhoods, and strengthens our local economy. Our city's future depends on our ability to improve our existing infrastructure to meet new demands. This grant funding will do just that by ensuring the CTA's aging infrastructure can keep pace with the growing demand for its services," said Senator Durbin. “Senator Duckworth and I will continue to work to bring Illinois' public transit infrastructure into the 21st century."

“We thank Senators Duckworth and Durbin for their continued support of CTA and helping to make RPM—the single-largest construction project in CTA history—a reality,” said CTA President Dorval Carter. “Like Mayor Rahm Emanuel, their continued support of transit and commitment to improving transit infrastructure is providing critical support to improve the CTA’s busiest rail line and the backbone of our rail system.”

As a member of two Senate committees with jurisdiction over our nation's transportation systems and infrastructure projects, Duckworth has been a vocal advocate for infrastructure investments and for upgrading our public transit systems, which create good-paying jobs in Illinois. Last week, Duckworth toured Metra’s 47^th Street Railcar Shop to view the implementation of life-saving technologies that will make trains safer for workers and commuters. In August of last year, Duckworth rode the blue line with local disability rights advocates to demonstrate the need for 100 percent compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act throughout the CTA system.

The Core Capacity Program is a competitive grant program created by Durbin as a member of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) Conference Committee.  CTA became the first transit system accepted into the Core Capacity Program in November 2013.  Durbin is also a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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