Choose CTA for Holiday Travel; Project work to impact Blue, Green and Brown line service
No matter your plans, CTA is the best way to get to the holiday fun. More information about our extra service for Magnificent Mile Festival of Lights, various sporting events, the Cher concert and Thanksgiving service is available below.
Event service/extra service
Magnificent Mile Festival of Lights on N. Michigan Ave - Sat. 11/23 at 11 a.m.
- Rail: Extra service on the Red, Brown and Orange lines
United Center
Extra service on #19 United Center Express and #50 Damen for the following events:
- Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Chicago Blackhawks – Thurs. 11/21 at 7:30 p.m.
- Miami Heat vs. Chicago Bulls – Fri. 11/22 at 7 p.m.
- Portland Trail Blazers vs. Chicago Bulls – Mon. 11/25 at 7 p.m.
- Dallas Stars vs. Chicago Blackhawks – Tues. 11/26 at 7:30 p.m.
- Cher concert – Wed. 11/27 at 7:30 p.m.
Northwestern University vs. Minnesota at Ryan Field – Sat. 11/23 at 11 a.m.
- Rail: Extra Purple Line service
New York Giants vs. Chicago Bears at Soldier Field – Sun. 11/24 at 12 p.m.
Thanksgiving Holiday Service
Leave the hassles of traffic and parking behind this Thanksgiving and let CTA take you to either the O’Hare International Airport via the Blue Line (approx. 40 minutes from Clark/Lake) or to Midway International Airport via the Orange Line (approx. 30 minutes from the Loop).
- Wed. 11/27 – additional service on Brown, Green, Red, Blue, Purple and Orange lines
- Thurs. 11/28 (Thanksgiving Day) - Sunday/holiday bus and rail schedule
- Fri. 11/29 –Reduced AM/PM rush service on Red, Blue, Brown, Green, Pink and Purple lines.
Full travel details are available at transitchicago.com/alerts. CTA recommends allowing plenty of travel time and purchasing fares and unlimited-ride passes ahead of time. More information about purchasing fares is below.
Weekend Project Work to Impact Blue, Green and Brown Line Service
CTA encourages customers to plan their trip beforehand and allow for extra travel time.
Grand Station Temporary Closure
- O’Hare-bound trains will not stop at the Grand station as follows:
- From Thurs. 11/21 at 8 p.m. until Fri. 11/22 at 4 a.m. – Details here
- Full station closure as follows:
- From Fri. 11/22 at 10 p.m. until Mon. 11/25 at 4 a.m. - Details here
- Forest Park-bound trains will not stop at the Grand station as follows:
- From Mon. 11/25 at 4 a.m. until Wed. 11/27 at 4 a.m.
- From Wed. 11/27 at 8 p.m. to Thurs. 11/28 at 4:30 a.m.
- Customers are encouraged to use the adjacent Blue Line stations at Chicago or Clark/Lake, which will be served by trains operating in both directions.
- Free bus shuttle to operate between Grand and Chicago Blue line stations Construction work to improve Grand Station as part of Your New Blue (YNB) program.
Green Line
Temporary suspension of service between Roosevelt and 35th-Bronzeville-IIT
- Suspension of service 10 p.m. Fri. 11/22 until 4 a.m. Mon. 11/25. More details here
- Free bus shuttle to operate between Roosevelt and 35th-Bronzeville-IIT stations.
- Rail track work is part of CTA’s FastTracks program
Harlem-bound trains will bypass Harlem-bound trains to bypass Garfield Station
- Garfield Station on the following dates:
- Mon. 11/25 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. – Details here
- Tue. 11/26 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. – Details here
- Wed. 11/27 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. – Details here
- Free bus shuttle service provided between Garfield and 51st Street stations during regular Green Line hours of operation
- Construction taking place will improve the Garfield Station as part of the Garfield Gateway Project
Brown Line
- Temporary suspension of service between Kimball and Western stations from 4 a.m. Sat. 11/23 until 2 a.m. Mon. 11/25. More details here
- Free bus shuttle to operate between Western and Kimball stations during this time.
- Track improvements to remove slow zones will improve rail service along the Brown Line as part of CTA’s FastTracks program.
Fare Information
Customers can add unlimited ride passes (1-day, 3-day, 7-day and 30-day) or add money to their Ventra cards for pay-per-ride via the following ways: free Ventra app, rail station Ventra vending machines, online or at nearly 900 local retailers - for locations visit ventrachicago.com.
Single-ride tickets are also available for purchase for $3 ($5 at O’Hare) at all Ventra vending machines. Single-ride tickets include up to two transfers in two hours.
In a hurry? Ventra allows riders to use Apple Pay, Android Pay or Samsung Pay, or any contactless credit or debit card, for pay-as-you-go rides ($2.25 for bus, $2.50 for train).
Service Information
Plan your trip using the Google Transit Trip Planner. Be sure to also check out CTA 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.
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