Foster   2000N 900W
Chicago 'L' rapid transit station
General information
Location	900 Foster Street Evanston, Illinois 60201
Coordinates	42°03′15″N 87°41′01″W / 42.054136°N 87.683604°W / 42.054136; -87.683604
Owned by	Chicago Transit Authority
Line(s)	Evanston Branch
Platforms	1 Island platform
Tracks	2
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
History
Opened	January 6, 1909; 115 years ago (1909-01-06)9
Rebuilt	1931; 93 years ago (1931)
Passengers
2022	133,737[1]  36.7% (CTA)
Services
Preceding station Chicago "L" Following station Noyes toward Linden Purple Line Davis toward Howard or Loop (Clark/Lake)
Former services Preceding station Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad Following station Noyes toward North Chicago Junction North Shore Line Shore Line Route Church toward Roosevelt Road
Track layout Legend Purple to Linden Hamlin St. North Shore Line platform removed 1970 Foster St. Purple to Howard or the Loop
Location

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) was proposed in three of the CTA's six potential options for the renovation of the Purple Line and northern section of the Red Line.^[2][3]