#128 Soldier Field Express, #146 Inner Drive Michigan Express and six Metra lines are among the fastest, most convenient and affordable travel options on football Sundays
Football is back at Soldier Field, Bears fans! Be a part of the action! Starting with the Chicago Bears’ regular season home opener on Sunday, September 19, and continuing through the 2021 season, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and Metra can help you sack surge pricing, traffic jams and parking hassles. We’ve teamed up to score the easiest, most convenient and most affordable travel options to get you to and from the game.
The winning combination of the CTA’s #128 Soldier Field Express, #146 Inner Drive/Michigan Express and the CTA’s Roosevelt Station (Red/Green/Orange Lines) can get you within steps of the stadium. For suburban fans, six Metra lines provide convenient rail connections to Chicago’s Union Station and Ogilvie Transportation Center, where CTA’s #128 Soldier Field Express offers express bus service to Soldier Field.In addition, the Metra Electric Line’s Museum Campus/11th Street Station is adjacent to Soldier Field and Metra will be providing extra service on the Metra Electric on game days.
For just $5, football fans boarding at either Union or Ogilvie stations can get an express, round trip to and from Soldier Field. A reduced fare of $2.50 is also available for seniors and children ages 7 – 11. Please note that in order to speed boarding after the game, these fares are only collected at the time of boarding at Ogilvie or Union stations. No fare will be collected at Soldier Field. This express service is available 90 minutes prior to kickoff and 60 minutes after the game ends.
Metra riders can also save money with Metra’s Sunday Pass, which allows unlimited travel on any Metra line for only $7. If you’re bringing the family, Metra’s Family Fares allow up to three children under 12 to ride free with a fare-paying adult.
Metra lines that connect suburban Bears fans to either Union Station or Ogilvie, where they can catch the #128 Soldier Field Express, are:
Union Station:
- BNSF Railway
- Milwaukee North
- Milwaukee West
Ogilvie Transportation Center:
- Union Pacific North
- Union Pacific Northwest
- Union Pacific West
Know before you go!
The CTA and Metra strongly recommend customers plan ahead, allow extra travel time, and purchase fares in advance. Below are a few things to be aware of to help make your next trip smooth and easy:
- Masks are required on CTA and Metra: Per federal mandate, masks or face coverings are required on all CTA and Metra properties -- even if you are vaccinated. As such, all customers are required to wear masks/coverings while on a CTA bus, CTA or Metra train, platform or in a station or other building or facility owned and operated by the CTA and Metra. Free masks are available on every bus and at every rail station.
- Plan your trip: Plan your trip using the Google Transit Trip Planner and our new Ridership Dashboards, which are designed to help you better plan trips on our buses and trains to avoid traveling during heavy ridership periods, whenever possible
- Ways to pay: There are a variety of convenient fare payment options, including payment with mobile pay apps (Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc.) and contactless bankcards. To learn more, visit: transitchicago.com/fares/.
- Travel updates and alerts: Stay in the Loop on CTA service wand follow us on Facebook or Twitter (@CTA) for system travel updates and alerts. For details about all CTA service, call 312-836-7000 or visit the CTA website at transitchicago.com.
When You’re Ready, We’re Ready
With Chicago fully reopened, the CTA and Metra are ready to get customers to where they need to go. As part of its commitment to providing the safest and healthiest transit experience, the CTA is continuing to operate full service on all routes (as it has throughout the pandemic), maintaining its rigorous and extensive cleaning and disinfecting of vehicles and stations multiple times each day, and offering a variety of new tools/resources to make taking public transit even more convenient. More information about CTA’s efforts can be found at transitchicago.com/ready. Current schedules for all Metra lines can be found at metra.com.
For more information to plan your football Sunday travel, visit metra.com or transitchicago.com/planatrip
About Metra
Metra is an essential resource that safely and reliably connects individuals to the things that matter most in their lives — their work, their homes and their families.
Connect with Metra: Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Instagram | LinkedIn | metrarail.com
About CTA
The CTA operates the nation's second largest public transportation system and covers the City of Chicago and 35 surrounding suburbs. On an average weekday, CTA serves more than 1.5 million riders.
Connect with CTA: Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Instagram | LinkedIn | transitchicago.com
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