Editing Yellow Line (CTA) (section)

===The Skokie Swift===
[[File:These articulated cars were called "jitterbugs". (25754045832).jpg|thumb|left|The Skokie Swift's rolling stock was dedicated of four 5000-series trainsets, seen here in April 1966.]]
The Skokie Swift high-speed ({{convert|5|mi|disp=sqbr}} in {{frac|6|1|2}} minutes) shuttle service, between Howard Street in Chicago and Dempster Street in Skokie, was inaugurated on April 20, 1964, as a federally-aided mass transportation demonstration project.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Buck |first=Thomas |date=April 19, 1964 |title=CTA's Skokie Service Opens |work=Chicago Tribune |page=3 |id={{ProQuest|179435459}}}}</ref> Participation in the net project costs was divided between the [[United States Department of Housing and Urban Development]], CTA and the Village of Skokie.

[[File:Looking eastbound from Kostner Street.jpg|thumb|left|View eastbound from Kostner Avenue prior to the installation of third rail]]

The success of this project had attracted nationwide attention. On its first day of service, Skokie Swift carried nearly 4,000 passengers in a 16-hour period compared to approximately 1,600 passengers carried by the North Shore Line from the Dempster Terminal in a 12-hour period before the railroad terminated. Ridership continued to increase and by the end of the first year, nearly 6,000 passengers were riding the new line each weekday.

Because of the weekday success, Saturday service was inaugurated, with more than 2,000 riders. At the end of the two-year experimental period, 3.5&nbsp;million people had used the new service and CTA authorized operation of the Skokie Swift as a permanent part of its rapid transit system.

The success of the Skokie Swift route demonstrated that many motorists will forsake their cars when high-speed mass transit is provided and to a minor extent, gave birth to the first use of ''light rail'' before the term was ever coined.<ref name=yellow/>

One of the distinctive features of the five-mile (8&nbsp;km) line was that approximately half was equipped with third rail while the other half was equipped with catenary left over from the Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee Railroad. Trains switched non-stop from third rail to overhead and vice versa using distinctive pan trolleys designed by Skokie Swift Project Manager George Krambles.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Garfield |first=Graham |title=George Krambles (1915-1999) |url=http://www.chicago-l.org/figures/krambles/index.html |access-date=January 8, 2011 |website=Chicago "L".org}}</ref>

[[File:Preparing to move the Dempster Street terminal.jpg|thumb|left|The old Dempster Street station building immediately prior to being moved]]

On February 9, 1992, Saturday service was discontinued during a service reduction by CTA.<ref name=yellow/> The "Skokie Swift" name was changed to the "Yellow Line" in 1993, when all Chicago 'L' lines were renamed for colors.<ref name=yellow/> The original name and logo of the Skokie Swift continues to be used today on station signage and route displays for Skokie-bound trains, making the Yellow Line the only "L" line to officially retain its original name. The Dempster Street Terminal was completely rebuilt from 1993 to 1994, with a new station house and train platforms.<ref name=yellow/> In 2003, the old brick station building (designed by architect [[Arthur U. Gerber]]) was moved {{convert|150|ft|m}} to the east, then was restored and converted into commercial property.

The Skokie Swift was the only CTA rapid transit line to use overhead catenary for electrification. It was also the last CTA rapid transit line to use overhead, as portions of the Evanston and Lake Street lines used conventional trolley overhead until 1973 and 1962, respectively. Third-rail electrification was installed in 2004 to increase reliability, allow compatibility with other rapid-transit lines and reduce maintenance costs.<ref name=yellow/>

In 2008, Saturday service was restored and brand new Sunday service was added.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=CTA to Add Weekend Service on Yellow Line |date=February 13, 2008 |publisher=Chicago Transit Authority |url=http://www.transitchicago.com/news/default.aspx?Archive=y&ArticleId=256 |access-date=July 26, 2010}}</ref>

====Addition of downtown Skokie station====
A groundbreaking ceremony marking the start of construction of a new intermediate stop on the Yellow Line, [[Oakton–Skokie (CTA station)|Oakton&ndash;Skokie]], took place on June 21, 2010.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Isaacs |first=Mike |date=June 21, 2010 |title=Downtown Skokie station breaks ground |url=http://www.pioneerlocal.com/skokie/news/2419126,skokie-station-062410-s1.article |access-date=June 25, 2010 |work=Skokie Review |location=Skokie, Illinois}}</ref> The station is located in downtown Skokie and was the first new CTA station built since 2001. The new station opened on April 30, 2012.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 30, 2012 |title=Oakton–Skokie Yellow Line Station Opens |url=http://www.transitchicago.com/oakton-station-on-the-yellow-line-now-open/?Month=4&Year=2012 |access-date=April 30, 2012 |work=Chicago Transit Authority}}</ref>