The CTA Holiday Train: what it is, and where to check this year's stops
The CTA Holiday Train's 2026 schedule isn't out yet. Here's where to check for it, how to track it once it runs, and how riding works.
You're on a cold platform in December, waiting for an ordinary train, when one pulls in covered in lights with Santa waving from an open car at the back. That's the CTA Holiday Train, and it carries riders for the regular fare. As of Oct. 14, the 2026 schedule hasn't been posted. Last year's came out in mid-November, and this piece covers where it will appear, how to follow the train once it's running and how a ride works.
What it is and where to check this year
The Holiday Train is a seven-car "L" train. Six cars are 2600-series cars decorated inside and out. The seventh is an open-air flatcar carrying Santa's sleigh. It runs in regular service from late November until just before Christmas, and over the season it covers all 146 stations on the CTA's eight lines.
The CTA hasn't published the 2026 dates yet. Its holiday page currently lists no schedule and says to check back next holiday season. Last year, the CTA released the train and bus schedules on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025, so a mid-November release is a reasonable guess, but it isn't a promise.
When it comes out, look in two places:
- transitchicago.com/holidayfleet/, the page news coverage pointed readers to for last year's schedule. The CTA's main holiday train page is at transitchicago.com/holidaytrain/.
- CTA Train Tracker, which shows the train live once the season starts.
You don't need a special ticket. If you board the Holiday Train, you pay the regular CTA fare, the same as any other train.
How a ride works
Once the schedule is out, the pattern is easy to follow. The train covers one or two lines a day. Last year it ran Tuesday through Saturday, with an occasional Monday. Weekday runs lasted three to four hours in the afternoon, and Saturday runs went longer. Several Saturdays last season also had Photos with Santa.
The season ends on the Yellow Line. On that last day the train splits into three two-car trains to fit the short Skokie Swift route.
You don't have to stand on a platform hoping it shows up. On CTA Train Tracker the Holiday Train is marked with a candy cane, so you can watch it move down the line and time your trip to the station.
A few things to know before you go:
- Space is limited, and boarding isn't guaranteed. The CTA says so plainly. On a busy day, you might just watch it go by.
- Bring a small stroller. The CTA asks families to use small collapsible strollers.
- Expect candy canes. According to WBEZ, the elves on board hand out about 150,000 candy canes a season.
Last year's schedule as a guide
The 2026 dates will be different, so use this only to see the pattern. Here's how the train rotated in 2025, according to ABC7's copy of the CTA schedule:
- Fri., Nov. 28 (the day after Thanksgiving): Green and Orange lines
- Sat., Nov. 29: Green Line, with Photos with Santa
- Tue., Dec. 2: Green and Orange lines
- Wed., Dec. 3 – Sat., Dec. 6: Orange and Brown lines, with Photos with Santa on Saturday
- Tue., Dec. 9 – Wed., Dec. 10: Pink Line
- Thu., Dec. 11 – Sat., Dec. 13: Blue Line, with Photos with Santa on Blue/Pink that Saturday
- Tue., Dec. 16 and Thu., Dec. 18: Red Line
- Wed., Dec. 17 and Fri., Dec. 19: Purple Line
- Sat., Dec. 20: Red and Purple lines
- Mon., Dec. 22: Yellow Line finale, with two-car trains running from Howard and Dempster-Skokie
Here's how long a run takes. On Dec. 16, the Red Line train left Howard for 95th/Dan Ryan at about 2:43 p.m. and started back north at about 4:19 p.m. If you live near the middle of a long line, you'll usually have a window on the way out and another on the way back.
Thanksgiving is Nov. 26 this year. If 2026 follows the same pattern, the first runs would come around that weekend, but don't count on it until the CTA posts the schedule.
Where it came from
The train started in 1992, and riders weren't part of it at first. Blue Line maintenance workers decorated an out-of-service O'Hare-bound train, put up a "Seasons Greetings from the CTA" sign and used it to deliver food to charities. That first year they delivered about 50 food boxes.
Santa and his reindeer joined in 1995, WBEZ reports. In 1996 the train began carrying passengers, and it became the train you know today.
It almost ended in December 2004, when a budget deficit nearly canceled the train. After public backlash, it was back within days.
In 2020, during COVID-19, the train and bus still ran, but without passengers.
Sponsors now help pay for it. WBEZ says corporate sponsors have helped with costs since 2015. The CTA calls it the "Allstate CTA Holiday Train," and Wikipedia lists Allstate as the title sponsor since 2018. From 2016 to 2019, a second "Elves' Workshop" train followed the main train on Saturdays, according to Wikipedia.
Work on each season starts early. WBEZ reports that planning begins around July and assembly in September, and the six dedicated cars are kept at a shop in Skokie. The food deliveries still go on: WBEZ puts the count at more than 600 boxes a season, while Wikipedia says the CTA donated 400 food baskets in 2025.
Since 2014, the train has had a partner on the street: the Holiday Bus.
The Holiday Bus and what to expect
The Holiday Bus has its own schedule, and it covers neighborhoods away from the "L." In 2025 it ran Nov. 25 to Dec. 20 on about 20 routes. It also stopped for photos with Santa. Last year's photo stops included Jefferson Park, Old Orchard Mall, Ford City, Midway, Union Station and Navy Pier.
Look for the bus schedule on the same CTA holiday page as the train's. It usually comes out at the same time. Whichever one you catch, expect a decorated ride for the regular fare, probably a candy cane and a crowd, especially on Saturdays.
Until mid-November, all you can do is keep checking transitchicago.com/holidayfleet/. Once the season starts, look for the candy cane on Train Tracker.
Sources (4)
Photo: 20131129 32 CTA Holiday Train by davidwilson1949, BY 2.0.