December 7, 2017 – As the cold December wind whips through the downtown canyon of buildings, two opposing Chicago Transit Authority trains meet at the Clark/Lake Station on the downtown loop elevated track (L), as they pickup and drop off their passengers before heading off to their next station stops. The oldest sections of the Chicago “L” started operations in 1892, making it the second-oldest rapid transit system in the Americas, after New York City’s elevated lines. The Chicago “L” (short for “elevated”) is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). It is the fourth-largest rapid transit system in the United States in terms of total route length, at 224.1 miles long and the second-busiest rail mass transit system in the United States, after the New York City Subway.