Getting to OHare on Metra?

[Sateryn76]

I'm just over the border in NW Indiana, and I dream of being able to get to OHare without using a car for our vacations. I know that somewhere, there is a line that goes to the F lot at Ohare, but I'm not sure which one (Blue? Brown? A Metra track?)

Anyone have any experience with this? It seems too good to be true - is it really a terrible hassle to drag your bags on and off the trains, or is it just a mild annoyance? I would most likely be coming from the University Park Metra station, or maybe the South Shore line.

Thanks!

[monster]

You are going to want to take the Blue Line CTA train to O'Hare. Use this link to help you with your trip

http://tripsweb.rtachicago.com/

I took the Blue Line to O'Hare. Not a hassle at all, but I didn't have any baggage. I met my husband there after I worked and he lugged the bags with him. I would say as long as you have one bag per person, it shouldn't be too much trouble. Where in NW Indiana are you from? I grew up in Hobart.

[Sateryn76]

Originally Posted by monster

You are going to want to take the Blue Line CTA train to O'Hare. Use this link to help you with your trip

http://tripsweb.rtachicago.com/

I took the Blue Line to O'Hare. Not a hassle at all, but I didn't have any baggage. I met my husband there after I worked and he lugged the bags with him. I would say as long as you have one bag per person, it shouldn't be too much trouble. Where in NW Indiana are you from? I grew up in Hobart.

Hey cool! I grew up in Merrillville; now I'm in Lowell...

Thanks for the link!

[jnglmassiv]

Originally Posted by Sateryn76

I'm just over the border in NW Indiana, and I dream of being able to get to OHare without using a car for our vacations. I know that somewhere, there is a line that goes to the F lot at Ohare, but I'm not sure which one (Blue? Brown? A Metra track?)

Anyone have any experience with this? It seems too good to be true - is it really a terrible hassle to drag your bags on and off the trains, or is it just a mild annoyance? I would most likely be coming from the University Park Metra station, or maybe the South Shore line.

Thanks!

As others have said, you'll need the Blue Line. You can get to this line from Metra either downtown or at Jefferson Park where Metra and CTA share a station. I just took the L back from ORD a few weeks ago and it truly couldn't have been any easier. If you're not travelling during the AM or PM rush, you'll be fine with the bags, too. As long as you can carry or pull them, you should have ample time to board and deboard.

I'm not sure what or where the F-lot is but the L station is right in the terminal, not at some outlot.

[Ed Zotti]

Blue Line service is cheap and frequent. However:

1. To avoid cars entirely, you need to take the South Shore train in from Indiana. See http://www.nictd.com/systemmap.html for a map and http://www.nictd.com/ for fares and schedules.

2. From the Millennium Park (Randolph Street) terminal, there's about a three block walk to the Blue Line station at Washington and Dearborn. There's an underground pedway connection that takes you most of the way (fewer stairs) but I can't confirm it's continuous. The walk via Randolph St. isn't bad if the weather is nice and you have no small children and a max of one bag on a wheelie per adult. If kids or lots of luggage, don't try it.

3. Trains are crowded at rush hour - schedule your trip to avoid.

4. They've been working on the Blue Line tracks sporadically at nights and on weekends - this means taking a shuttle bus around the work area. Supposed to be done soon but who knows. Check at http://www.transitchicago.com/ or http://www.ctatattler.com/ for notices.

5. The Metra North Central line has a stop at O'Hare, but it puts you at a remote parking lot from which there's a long walk to the people mover train to the terminal ... not worth it.

Other than that, it's cake.

[Broomstick]

I've taken the South Shore line to the Loop, then the Dearborn street El to O'Hare many times. (I've also done the El to Midway, too). Ed's directions are good, but they've been working on the underground pedway off and on for years so sometimes you can go from Millenium Station to Dearborn street entirely underground and sometimes you can't.

I feel that I should also mention that there are buses that will take you from NW Indiana to either O'Hare or Midway, dropping you off at the terminals. I've taken the one from Hammond more than once. Here is the link to the schedule.

[Dinsdale]

Originally Posted by Ed Zotti

Blue Line service ...

Fucking colors. You mean the Jefferson Park! Next thing you'll forget that the Picasso is at the Civic Center, or refer to "Northerly Island" or "Pulaski"!

[Ed Zotti]

OK, folks, let's watch the language. This isn't the Pit. As for you, Dinsdale, when did you arrive in town, yesterday? Any longtime Chicagoan knows that the "L" service in the Dearborn subway that heads northwest is the Milwaukee line.

[pulykamell]

Originally Posted by Ed Zotti

OK, folks, let's watch the language. This isn't the Pit. As for you, Dinsdale, when did you arrive in town, yesterday? Any longtime Chicagoan knows that the "L" service in the Dearborn subway that heads northwest is the Milwaukee line.

Proof from a 1975 El map.

I didn't realize this, but as early as 1985 the el lines had their colors, even if they weren't be referred to as such. (The only change is the Skokie Swift going from Orange to Yellow.)

[Dinsdale]

Originally Posted by pulykamell

...as early as 1985 the el lines had their colors, ...

Go ahead and make me feel old, just because I can vaguel remember a time before 1985 ...

[LurkMeister]

Originally Posted by Dinsdale

Go ahead and make me feel old, just because I can vaguel remember a time before 1985 ...

Hell, I remember when the Jefferson Park terminal was built, and getting annoyed because it meant that now I had to change buses to get from Milwaukee & Devon to Six Corners (Milwaukee/Cicero/Irving Park)

[The Surb]

Last year I took the SS from Michigan City to Randolph St then picked up the Blue Line (Clark? or maybe Washington?) to O'Hare with one carry-on bag.

And except for the drunk guy (he was more funny than scary) it went ok.

My biggest recommendation is bring a book.

[gaffa]

I understand the advice to avoid traveling on the Blue Line at rush hour, but that's the most enjoyable time to ride it. If you're heading to the airport, you can laugh your head off at all those people caught in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the highway, while you whiz by in the train. Even at it's most crowded, the train rarely gets delayed by other trains. I'll never understand people who don't have a huge amount of luggage taking a taxi to and from the airport, spending $30 to get downtown, when they could take the Blue Line for $2.

[MikeS]

Originally Posted by gaffa

Even at it's most crowded, the train rarely gets delayed by other trains. I'll never understand people who don't have a huge amount of luggage taking a taxi to and from the airport, spending $30 to get downtown, when they could take the Blue Line for $2.

I use to think that too. Then there was the 2006 derailment, and they imposed a whole mess of slow zones for safety's sake. They've done a lot since then to eliminate them, but for a while it could take you close to two hours to get from downtown to O'Hare if you were travelling off-peak. After I almost missed a flight once, I swore off taking the CTA to O'Hare for the rest of my time in Chicago (I moved away in the fall of last year.) Midway is so much less hassle anyhow.