CHICAGO — Tickets go on sale Nov. 17 at noon for Metra’s annual Holiday Trains, to operate on five of its routes in December.
The specially decorated trains featuring holiday characters will operate on the Metra Electric, BNSF, Milwaukee West, Rock Island, and Union Pacific Northwest lines. The Metra Electric trips will also feature a visit to a North Pole winter wonderland at Millennium Station in downtown Chicago with treats, holiday music, face painting, games, and other activities.
Easterseals will be part of the Millennium Station event, creating buttons for participants through its HB Threads booth, a nonprofit program that provides employment opportunities, job training, and life skills development for people with disabilities.
Other downtown stations will also be decorated, and the decorated trains will also be used in regular service during December.
“Our Holiday Trains have become an annual tradition for our riders and their families, and we are happy to be operating them again,” Metra CEO/Executive Director Jim Derwinski said in a press release. “It’s our way to spread a little holiday joy and thank our riders for making Metra part of their lives all year.”
Trains will operate Dec. 6 on the Milwaukee West and BNSF lines; Dec. 13 on the Metra Electric, Rock Island, and UP Northwest; and Dec. 20 on the Metra Electric. Schedules are available here. Tickets, $10 each, are expected to sell out and must be purchased in advance. They can be bought at www.shop.metra.com. There is a limit of five tickets per purchase. Ticket holders can ride the holiday trains back to their starting point or stay downtown and return later on any scheduled train that day.
