The CTA Holiday Train [a] is a special service of the Chicago "L" rail system, running annually during the Christmas and holiday season in Chicago, Illinois. [1] The train features extensive Christmas decorations, and is a popular holiday tradition in Chicago. [2]
The Holiday Train runs in regular service across the 'L' system between late November and Christmas, visiting all 146 stations as it progresses through the system's eight lines. [3] [4] Each day the train is in service, it runs on either a single line or a combination of two lines, stopping at all stations. [4] [5] It operates as run #1225, in reference to the date of Christmas Day. [6] [7] CTA employees, dressed as Christmas elves, greet passengers onboard. [3] [8]
As of 2025, the Holiday Train runs five days a week, Tuesday through Saturday, from Black Friday until a few days before Christmas (occasionally also running on a Monday). [9] [10] It runs for three to four hours in the afternoon on weekdays, and for longer spans on Saturday afternoons. [4] For the final day of each year's service, the Holiday Train is divided into three two-car trains, which run individually on the Yellow Line. [3] [4] [11]
The Holiday Train service is run with a designated seven-car train, consisting of six modified 2600-series passenger cars (units 2893-2898) [12] interspersed with a single open-air flatcar. [13] [14] The passenger cars are extensively decorated with Christmas lights and stylized vinyl wraps on the interior and exterior, [3] [15] and red-and-green seats, bows, garlands, and other artwork on the interior. [16] The flatcar contains a holiday-themed display featuring a CTA employee dressed as Santa Claus, [16] greeting riders from atop a sleigh pulled by reindeer. [10] [15] Its headsigns read "Santa's Express," [17] and large signs adorn the exterior, displaying holiday messages such as "Peace on Earth", “Happy Holidays”, and "Seasons Greetings from CTA’s Rail Lines." Christmas music is played from onboard speakers. [16] [18]
The train is decorated each fall at the Skokie Shops, and is stored there when not in use. [3] [15] [16] Decorations are stored and reused from year to year. [3] As of 2024, the train's decorations included more than 100,000 Christmas lights. [8]
From 2016 to 2019, the Holiday Train was accompanied by a second holiday-themed train, known as the Elves' Workshop Train. [19] The Elves' Workshop Train ran exclusively on Saturdays, directly behind the main Holiday Train, to accommodate crowds. [20] [21] Like the Holiday Train, the Elves' Workshop Train also consisted of six decorated 2600-series railcars. (units 2883-2900) [12]
In addition to the Holiday Train, the CTA also operates a holiday-themed bus. [22] The CTA Holiday Bus [b] is a decorated New Flyer D60LFR articulated bus (unit 4374) [23] [24] decorated with lights and a vinyl wrap in a manner similar to the Holiday Train, and similarly running in regularly scheduled service on CTA bus routes. The Holiday Bus debuts each year during the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival Parade, [25] [26] and services 15 to 20 bus routes each year. [27] [5]
The Holiday Train program has historically been used to provide food to local charities; [8] in 2025, the CTA donated 400 food baskets. [10]
The Holiday Train began in 1992 as a decorated out-of-service train run on the Blue Line, used by CTA staff to deliver donations of food to local charities. [2] [28] It became a passenger service in 1996. [3] [28]
In 2003, the Holiday Train derailed near Sedgwick station while running on the Brown Line. Passengers were evacuated, though no one was injured. [29]
The Holiday Train was nearly discontinued in December 2004 amid systemwide budget cuts, with then-CTA president Frank Kruesi stating that it was difficult to justify funding the program amid the threat of mass employee layoffs the following January. [28] [30] [31] Kruesi was criticized for the decision, with local media comparing him unfavorably to the Grinch. [28] [30] The service was reinstated at the request of Carole Brown, then-chair of CTA's board of directors. [28] [32] [33]
In 2014, the CTA introduced the Holiday Bus to complement the Holiday Train. [22] [34]
In 2016, the CTA introduced the Elves’ Workshop Train [35]
Since the 2010s, the Holiday Train program has been funded primarily by corporate sponsors. [3] [13] [16] The train and bus were sponsored by Sprint in 2015, [3] [36] and by Jewel-Osco in 2017. [3] [37] Allstate has been the title sponsor of the services since 2018. [3]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Holiday Train and Bus ran without passengers in 2020. [38] [39]
In 2009, a song titled "CTA X-mas Train", describing the Holiday Train, won a contest in the Chicago Tribune seeking a new "classic" Chicago holiday song. [40]
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