Honestly other than the Skokie platforms, what is stopping the CTA from continuing Red Line service north from Howard via the Purple and Yellow lines? I can see only benefits from offering one-seat rides from Skokie and Evanston, and it shouldn't be difficult either

>A four track station with multiple options to reverse the trains thanks to...
>...a huge yard to the north and a siding track to the south
These features of Howard have so much untapped potential, it's not even funny. If it was any other country than the USA, I would say run the Purple Express all day and connect Skokie to the Red Line all day asap, but in the Midwestern US we need to take small steps.

>My idea
Red Line runs at minimum every 3-4 minutes (or 18 tph) in Rush hour and every 5-6 minutes (or 10-12 tph) off-peak.
Purple Line express runs every 10 minutes
Purple line off-peak runs either every 10 or 12 minutes, to match Red Line off-peak service. Every off-peak train continues as a Red Line train and vice versa.
Yellow Line operates every 10 minutes in rush hour, and every 12 or 15 minutes, also to match with the Red Line, and with future through service as Skokie platforms get extended.

They have massive amounts of rolling stock as evident by the fact that they used to have 24tph on the Red Line. Their oldest rolling stock is barely 40 years in service so a few more years wouldn't hurt until the 7000-series options are taken. I've also hardly did anything to the rush hour headways at all, except for arguably the Red Line.

These are all changes that could be done tomorrow. So why don't they?