Verentum's South Loop tram line returned to its regular weekday timetable this morning after three nights of scheduled maintenance.
Transit crews replaced two switch assemblies near Marrow Street, ground rail along the eastern curve, reset platform edging at three stops, and repainted boarding markers where winter wear had made them difficult to see. Work began after the last evening service and was cleared before the morning operating window each day, although the final night required the line to open forty minutes late.
Replacement buses ran between Central Exchange and South Market during the overnight closures. The transit authority said 4,800 passengers used the buses across the three nights, with the heaviest use after a theatre performance let out on the second evening.
Nothing dramatic happened
No rails failed. No train was stranded. The work was scheduled six weeks ago after routine inspection found wear in the switch points and unevenness along part of the curve.
There were complaints anyway.
Two South Market restaurants said late deliveries were delayed by temporary lane closures. A bakery on Marrow Street put a handwritten sign in its window promising "normal croissants at abnormal hours" after staff came in early to avoid the detour. The transit authority said all affected streets were reopened before 5:30 this morning.
The last replacement bus left Central Exchange at 5:18. The first scheduled South Loop tram departed twelve minutes later.
By 7:00, the departure board was no longer interesting.