CTA Trains (Chicago Transit Authority)

[Anonymous]

The CTA is a very fun and fast way to get around the Chicago Land area.

A perfect trip to Chicago would be to take amtrak train to chicago to union station then from there walk a few blocks get on the L and buy day passes (its alot more useful if u dont have a car) then check into your hotel and stay for a couple of days and take the amtrak back. This trip is IDEAL for train fans and if you have a wife who likes to shop she can go to the merchendise mart while you ride the cta trains!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For a CTA map go to www.transitchicago.com

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

Unless things have changed dramatically, the wife won't get much shopping done at the Merchandise Mart unless she's a buyer for a department store.  She would have a much better chance of breaking your wallet on N. Michigan Ave.

A trip over a weekend might be a better idea since Metra has $5.00 unlimited weekend passes available that are good on all Metra lines (South Shore is not part of Metra).

[METRO]

I've done the trip a few times.  I live in Milwaukee and what I used to do when I went to Chicago (maybe a couple times a month) I'd drive down to the CTA's park and ride lots by O'Hare and take the Blue Line subway into the city.

However the Illinois DOT decided to rebuild the toll roads to make it even more annoying to those of us who don't have I-Passes. Initially I thought about driving to Kenosha and taking the Metra but since I live in downtown Milwaukee and had to get to the Loop directly, Amtrak is far more convenient, if a bit more expensive. 

Amtrak and the CTA are also great ways to get to Cubs and ChiSox games too.

Cheers!

~METRO 

[EJE818]

CTA is a great way to get to and from Cubs and Sox ga,es. You could take Metra to one of the downtown terminals, walk over to the CTA, and head to either park. It would be much cheaper then driving, plus you would avoid parking, which there isn't too much of especially at Wrigley. For Sox games, you would be able to avoid the Dan Ryan constuction mess.

[Paul Milenkovic]

Any suggestions about good park-and-ride stations for the intermodal transition from car to Metra, say coming from the Northwest Tollway (Madison, Janesville, Beloit, Rockford) into Chicago.

One place that is popular is Harvard, Illinois, but it is a bit out of the way along back roads, and as the end-of-the-line, not all trains start that far out so you have fewer inbound departures.  Anyone have experience with Arlington Racetrack or places farther out or closer in?

[Kevin C. Smith]

For many years, we would use the Arlington Park station while visiting relatives. There was plenty of parking and it was convenient to Illinois Hwy 53. If things haven't changed that much since Metra took over (that tells you how long it's been), there is frequent service, including a couple of expresses.