It's been a long time coming for Uptown residents, who have been without full CTA Red Line access since 2021.
"It has been tough," said Wayne, an Uptown resident and regular CTA rider. "Some of the stops weren't available at all, even though some were partially available. You could go south on some but not north on others, so it was tough. You had to walk a little or ride the bus instead."
The brand new Red Line stations are at Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn and Bryn Mawr. During construction, temporary Argyle and Bryn Mawr stations were serving customers. Those stations are now closed.
Wayne said the new stations will make life easier for him and other regular CTA commuters.
"I think it's going to make everyone a lot happier, especially the commuting crowd that has to get downtown every day," Wayne said. "This will be a lot more efficient for them. It'll be terrific."
He was one of several people checking out the new stations as they opened Sunday. He said first impressions were positive, especially when it came to the noise levels of the trains.
"I think they brought their best trains out because the trains are running very smoothly without noise," he said.
And there's a reason for that.
"What makes them quiet is the new concrete structure," said Andrew Gavrillos, a CTA spokesperson.
He said the previous structures were more than a century old and made out of steel.
"They're going to give riders a smoother ride, a quieter ride and they're wind and noise resistant, so the neighbors will appreciate them as well," he said.
He said the new stations also have wider platforms and canopies to protect riders from the elements. They also have enhanced lighting, platform heating for the winter months and real-time travel information displays.
And perhaps most importantly, Gavrillos said, the stations are fully ADA-compliant.
"They all have elevators and escalators, so everyone can use them, whether you're disabled a senior — everyone can use them," he said. "This is a sight. I think residents and commuters will be very impressed."
The stations certainly got the stamp of approval from a young CTA rider named Daniel. He lives in Bridgeport but was visiting the stations with his family.
"The whole tracks used to just block everything with concrete, and now they're making them elevated and more open," said Daniel. "I just like seeing the progress that has been made over the last few years."
Daniel and his family were just a few of hundreds of lucky customers who were given tickets to the CTA's ceremonial "first ride" Sunday morning, which took riders from Bryn Mawr to Berwyn as the train broke through a commemorative banner to celebrate the opening of the new stations.
The rebuilt stations are a part of Phase One of the $2.1 billion Red and Purple Modernization (RPM) Project that started in 2019.