Since 1992, the CTA holiday train has become a beloved spectacle of Chicago’s rail lines. What started as an out-of-commission Blue Line train displaying “seasons greetings” and delivering food to Chicago charities has since evolved into a citywide tradition, now delivering both food and holiday cheer across the city. The train runs from Nov. 29 to Dec. 23 on all eight rail lines with the option to take a photo with Santa available on Saturdays.
The holiday train has remained both a fixture of Chicago’s frigid winters and a vision to behold for over 30 years: from the Christmas-themed advertisements plastered inside the cars to the red-and-green seats below, everything screams Christmas. While candy canes are distributed by CTA employees dressed in elf costumes, the twinkling lights rimming the windows and the ceiling illuminate the car in a festive haze, and both the ceiling and the floor are redecorated to match the Christmas vibe. Santa can be found on an open-air flatcar, his sleigh flanked with candy cane guard rails, nutcracker soldiers, reindeer and impressively tall Christmas trees.
Despite the impressive razzle-dazzle of it all, the focus of the holiday train remains on benefiting the community. The CTA purchases and donates groceries to assemble food baskets to be delivered to organizations across the city benefiting those in need. This year, an expected 400 food baskets, which include meal components like canned ham, potatoes, vegetables and more, will be donated to charity.
“The Allstate CTA Holiday Train and Bus are more than festive decorations — they are a unique Chicago holiday tradition that celebrates the goodwill of this city, and the hard work of CTA employees who are committed to making everyone’s holidays a little brighter,” CTA president Dorval R. Carter Jr. said in a statement.
Sophomore Sinziana Lazar has never taken the train before, but has long been enthralled when she sees it going by in a blur of blinking lights. Sinziana thinks riding the train would be an amazing experience.
“I saw the train when I was driving through Chicago, and I thought it was really cool,” Sinziana said. “It was always a staple of the Chicago holiday experience. It’s very cheerful, and it makes me really happy to look at it. I would love to ride it because of that.”
In 2014, the CTA extended this tradition to bus lines. Select buses will undergo festive remodeling for the next few weeks, with the full schedule for tracking holiday-themed transportation available on the CTA website, or accessed using the holiday bus tracker.
