Pink Line celebrates 10 years of service

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The CTA marked 10 years of Pink Line service between the Loop and west suburban Cicero on Tuesday.

Over the past 10 years, the line added new stations, as well as new train cars.

On Tuesday, a woman who played a role in naming the line attended a CTA event. Eleni Vrettos, who is now a school teacher, wrote an essay 10 years ago that won the naming contest for the new CTA train line. She was a 7th grader at the time.

"Just looking at the color, can turn a frown upside down, that's what I said," Vrettos said Tuesday. "More people will ride the CTA if the color makes them want to shout, not to mention it reminded me of the pink panther."

The CTA said over its first 10 years of service, ridership on the Pink Line has increased by 35 percent.