CTA employees are happy to help take your photo with Santa, but their primary job is to ensure the train remains on schedule with everyone safely abroad. If you’re riding the train for the experience (rather than as a commuter), consider getting on close to its starting point since most holiday train riders will ride to the end of the line and back. The trains get packed the closer they get to the Loop. Check the schedule for designated run times, particularly if you want to see Santa. Whether you’re catching the holiday bus or the train, normal CTA fares apply since they are both part of regular service. A holiday bus tracker provides its real-time location when it’s in service. Guests will know the bus is arriving when they hear the jingles of holiday music in the air. The bus will criss-cross the city via 19 different bus lines. The exterior of the 60-foot bus is wrapped in a decal depicting Santa’s sleigh and reindeer flying high over Chicago’s skyline to deliver gifts. Less well-known but no less magical is the Allstate CTA Holiday Bus, which began in 2014. On certain days Santa can even be seen seated in his sleigh with his reindeer, waving, smiling, and shouting “ho, ho, ho!” from an open-air flatcar in the middle of the train line. It runs on all eight of the city’s transportation lines, 25 times between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Today, the train is an over-the-top Christmas explosion whose twinkling lights can be seen further away than by the people waiting on the train platform. The purpose of the train isn’t just to spread holiday cheer it’s a reminder of a CTA tradition that began in 1992, to deliver food baskets across the city.īack then, a single out-of-service Blue Line train with “Season’s Greetings from the CTA” on the front, was used to deliver food to various charities. The after-Thanksgiving tradition features a 10-car train that’s decked out in Christmas lights, playing festive classics like Brenda Lee’s “Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree,” filled with holiday-specific ads starring reindeers, snowmen, and snowflakes, and complete with elves (aka CTA employees) dressed in their best holiday decor, handing out candy canes and buttons to commemorate the event. It’s not just a display of festive cheer: it’s a surefire sign that the Allstate CTA Holiday Train is running and on its way. But what everyone should really be hoping for is the tiny candy cane icon that appears next to certain trains. It’s common to see commuters stepping out from under them to check the monitors in the hopes that a train is coming soon. The heat lamps are back on at “L” platforms, a sure sign that winter has arrived in Chicago.
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