How to Ride Chicago’s EL

Chicago's El, short for elevated train

The best, and most scenic, way to get around Chicago is to ride our famous El. Short for elevated train, the El is one of the most reliable methods of transportation within the city limits. Conveniently located right next to the Summit site, the El services both O’Hare and Midway airports, all downtown areas, and many suburbs. The El has eight train routes known by colors (the Red line, Brown line, Orange line, etc.). The Rosemont El stop is the Blue line, which runs from O’Hare to downtown. I know that visiting a new city can be intimidating in and of itself. Add mastering the public transportation system and some of you might be overwhelmed. I understand. I’ve been there. So here are a few resource for using the El.

Purchasing Tickets – you purchase tickets at any El stop. Each ride is $2.25. You can load money onto a fare card or you can purchase a 3 day pass for $14. The 3 day pass allows you to ride the train and bus system for 72 hours from the time you first use your card for an unlimited number of rides. Purchase your tickets at one of the fare card machines. For more information, see the CTA’s Fare Buying guide.

Planning Your Route – the easiest way to figure out which train to take and where to transfer is to use a service like Google Maps. Say you want to visit the Field Museum while you’re here. Enter in your starting and end points, click the By public transit option, and Google Maps tells you the best route to take, complete with transfer instructions. For more route-planning tips, see the CTA’s Finding Your Way guide.

Asking Questions – we don’t expect you to remember all of this. If you have questions, please stop by the STC Chicago Hospitality table and asked one of our friendly volunteers (who also happen to be Chicago residents). We’re here to make your visit to the Windy City as seamless as possible.

The CTA offers a host of resources at their site. If you know you’ll be exploring the city in your free time, consider familiarizing yourself with what they have to offer. Now get out there and train through my favorite U.S. city. Adam Evans is a member of the STC Chicago 2012 Host Committee and a technical writer at kCura.

4 comments

Jenna Moore

Great info, thanks! I love trains, even NYC’s famous subway trains. 🙂 Let me ask, how practical is the El with luggage?

1. STC Chicago
  
  Jenna, people take luggage on the El every day (especially since it services both Chicago airports). Certain El stops are trickier than others with luggage (not all stops have escalators), but the Rosemont stop has an escalator and is very conducive to carrying luggage.
  
  Let us know if you have any other questions!
  
  1. Jenna Moore
    
    Great to know, thanks! This sounds like a great alternative to a cab and ground traffic.
    
    1. STC Chicago
      
      Definitely! Just so you know, the Hyatt Regency O’Hare offers a free shuttle to and from O’Hare. But the El is a fun alternative. 🙂

Consider reading these posts.

Schedule Overview

Track Descriptions

Program

4 comments

Leave a Reply to Jenna Moore Cancel reply