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The CTA Holiday Train and Bus Are Returning!

Daniel Hautzinger
The CTA Holiday Train. Photo: CTA
Photo: CTA

It's a magical moment: you're shivering in the cold on a high, exposed "L" stop, annoyed by the tedium of your commute. And then: lights, colors, music, Santa! It's the CTA Holiday Train! Starting next Friday, November 23, the Holiday Train will be riding the rails throughout the city, bringing joy and cheer to shivering commuters. And on Tuesday, November 27, the Holiday Bus begins its monthlong stint shuttling passengers and granting photo opportunities with Santa. Find the schedule for both the bus and the train here.

The bus, with its antlers and glowing red nose on the outside and Santa's workshop and colored lights on the inside, has only been running for the previous four years. But this is the 26th year of the train, which consists of six cars and a Santa's Sleigh in the middle (more cars are added with the Elves' Workshop train on Saturdays). The tradition begain in 1992 when an out-of-service train being used to deliver food to charities on the Blue Line was decorated with a sign proclaiming "Season's Greetings from the CTA." The decorations are much more elaborate now, and you might even get a candy cane. 

The train generally operates in the late afternoon and the evening. CTA advises that you try to board near the beginning of a route, as the train becomes especially crowded, especially on days when you can take a picture with Santa. You can see where the train is using the CTA Train Tracker, where it will be denoted with a candy cane. 

The CTA Holiday Bus. Photo: CTAPhoto: CTA