Union station(Amtrak) to O'hare (Carbondale, Clinton: mover, hotel, transfer)

[Al Bothwell]

I will be arriving by train to the union station from Carbondale IL. Does anyone know how to get to O'hare and the cost?

Thanks,
Al Bothwell

[chet everett]

If your arrival at Union Station works you can take a Metra train:

North Central Service (NCS) Schedule

The fare is $3.80. The "Ohare Transfer Station" is sorta in the back of the O'Hare remote parking lots so you have to schlep over the over to the O'Hare people mover or ride a shuttle, but it is nice that you don't have to leave Unions Station.

The other alternative is the use the CTA Blue Line: Deprecated Browser Error

[nikitakolata]

The cheapest way is to walk to the blue line and take it to O'Hare; that'll run you $2.25. When you exit Union Station, go east on Monroe, Adams, or Jackson and the blue line is in the subway when you get to Dearborn, which is 6 blocks east of Union Station. It takes about an hour to get to O'Hare (CTA says 45 minutes, but who are we kidding?).

Taking a cab might be faster (depends on traffic) but will cost much more... I'm not very familiar with cab rates, so I'll leave that to someone else.

[OrangeAndBlue]

Cab ride from Union Station to O'Hare should set you back around $40 - give or take a couple of bucks. Also, if you're taking the cab during rush hour, this trip can take over an hour with traffic.

[Thepreacherswife]

Are you traveling on a weekend? If so, there has been Blue Line work on the Dearborn/Congress subway nights and weekends of late so the train service is replaced by a shuttle bus. It's a PITA. You can take a cab to Clark/Lake and get on the Blue Line there.

Otherwise don't walk east to Dearborn. Walk south on Clinton and get on the Blue Line under the Eisenhower/Congress. The walk is fine in daytime and it's 4 blocks shorter than going to Dearborn.

[Chicagodan]

[quote=chet everett;11585079]If your arrival at Union Station works you can take a Metra train:

North Central Service (NCS) Schedule

The fare is $3.80. The "Ohare Transfer Station" is sorta in the back of the O'Hare remote parking lots so you have to schlep over the over to the O'Hare people mover or ride a shuttle, but it is nice that you don't have to leave Unions Station.

Wow, I never knew there was Metra service to O'hare - good to know.

[SJaye]

If you considering taking the METRA line, I would seriously look at the schedule. That line, the North Central Service has a schedule that is quite limited. Unlike other METRA lines like the Union Pacific lines (all 3) and BNSF, this line is pretty much designed just to take people in and out of the city for the typical 9-5/ 8-4 type job. The last train of the night leaves at 8:30 PM, there is very limited service in the morning (outbound that is), and no weekend service.

[chet everett]

I agree with Sjaye that the NCS has very limited schedule, but the busiest flight times out of O'hare are covered pretty well. It is a useful option and I am a little surprised that the usually very revenue/marketing oriented folks of Rosemont have not done more to promote it. You could get folks to trains from downstate and even stay in a close to the airport Rosemont Hotel, with the shows and stuff that Rosemont has the revenue could probably underwrite a shuttle service. That would be a huge boost to weekend service...

[soulful]

I never knew Metra had a station near O'Hare. Very good information.

Approximately how long is the walk from this Metra station to the O'Hare people mover station? Do the O'Hare shuttles pickup at the Metra station?

thanks

[chet everett]

There are shuttles, the NSC OHare Transfer Station is at the end of Zemke Blvd east of Mannheim. The people moved is west of Mannheim close to where the internal roads that line-up with Bessie Coleman Dr/ Schilling Rd sort of join up. it might be under half a mile, but it is basically all parking lots and not a delightful walk.

It seems like a wee bit of political cooperation would have gone a long way to making this work much better...