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On Saturday, federal, state and city officials joined Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) executives at a ribbon cutting ceremony in Chicago to mark the completion of 18 station renovation projects, which capped off the authority’s $530 million Brown Line capacity expansion program.

The CTA recently completed work at the Belmont and Fullerton stations, the final two facilities to undergo reconstruction. The Brown Line is CTA’s third-busiest route; between 1979 and 2008, the line’s annual ridership increased 103.5 percent from 7.4 million to 15.1 million.

Prior to the renovations, most Brown Line stations couldn’t accommodate eight-car trains. Now, platforms at 16 of the stations have been extended to handle eight-car trains, providing the CTA one-third more capacity compared with a six-car configuration.

Federal, state and local dollars helped fund the capacity expansion program. In 2004, the CTA obtained a Full Funding Agreement Grant from the Federal Transit Administration for $245.5 million.