CTA Holiday Train to visit Wilmette this week

(Editor’s Note: This story was reported by Igor Studenkov for the Evanston Roundtable, a neighboring independent newsroom. It was shared with The Record as part of an ongoing collaborative effort.)

Wilmette families hoping to catch the CTA Holiday Train this year have three options this year — and only one option if they want their kids to get photos with Santa.

Now in its 32nd year, the CTA Holiday Train uses a special train set with festively decorated train cars and a dedicated flat car for Santa and his sleigh. It usually kicks off after Thanksgiving and ends its run right before Christmas Eve, but the only thing that’s consistent about its schedule is that the Yellow Line is the last line it runs on.

This year, the train will run on the Purple Line Express on Wednesday and on Red and Purple Lines on Saturday.

In keeping with its practice since the pandemic, CTA did not provide a station-by-station schedule. The best way to track its arrival is to watch the CTA train tracker and real-time arrival displays at the L stations for trains with candy canes next to them. The Twitter CTA Holiday Train tracker bot can be a useful tool, but it is not always accurate.

On Wednesday, Dec. 18, the CTA Holiday Train will leave Howard L station at around 3:15 p.m. and head north to the Linden Avenue station in Wilmette. It will leave Linden at around 3:50 p.m. and head south, making all of the regular Purple Line Express stops. The train is expected to arrive at the Clark/Lake station around 4:45 p.m., take a trip around the elevated loop and return to Linden. At around 6 p.m., it will leave Linden to travel to Howard, where it will end its run for the day.

On Friday, Dec. 20, it will run on the Purple Line Express again, but the times will be a bit different. The CTA Holiday Train will leave Howard station around 3:45 p.m., head to Linden, leave Linden at around 4:20 p.m. It will once again make a full loop on the L tracks, returning to Merchandise Mart station at around 5:21 p.m. and traveling back to Linden. It will leave Linden at around 6:20 p.m. and, once again, end its run at Howard.

On Saturday, Dec. 21, the holiday train will operate as a Red/Purple Line train. It will leave Howard at around 12:36 p.m. and make all the regular Red Line stops. At around 3:21 p.m., it will leave 95th/Dan Ryan station at the south end of the Red Line and head to Linden, making all the regular Red Line and Purple Line stops. At around 6:51 p.m. the train will leave Linden and travel as far south as Howard.

Also on Saturday, children can take photos with Santa at the Linden Avenue and 95th/Dan Ryan stations. CTA warns that “photos are on a first-come, first-served basis, limit one photo set-up per family/group,” and that, while “every effort is made to accommodate those lined up for photos,” there is “a firm-cut-off time” to make sure the train leaves on time.

A note about Christmas schedules

As always, CTA will operate on the regular weekday schedule on Christmas Eve and on Sunday/Holiday schedule on Christmas Day. Pace mostly follows the pattern, except with certain specialized routes.

Purple Line Express will operate during rush hour on Christmas Eve, but not Christmas Day.

The Union Pacific North Metra Line, which serves many North Shore communities, will follow a modified Saturday schedule on Christmas Eve, and the Sunday schedule on Christmas Day.

The Record is a nonprofit, nonpartisan community newsroom that relies on reader support to fuel its independent local journalism.

Subscribe to The Record to fund responsible news coverage for your community.

Already a subscriber? You can make a tax-deductible donation at any time.