My husband and I recently needed to go downtown from Northbrook. Since the building we were…read morevisiting was right next to Chicago Union Station, taking the train was a no-brainer. I used to take the train very often years ago and was quite familiar with the station back then. This time, however, if I hadn't been with my husband, who acted as my guide, I definitely would have been quite lost! I'll definitely do a little more homework before my next visit. When we passed through the Great Hall, I was still in awe, admiring the intricate details of this iconic Chicago landmark. The Great Hall features a 219-foot-long barrel-vaulted skylight that soars 115 feet above the ground. My advice to out-of-town travelers: allow at least 10 minutes while you're in the station to stop and take in the elaborate details of this historic landmark, built in the Beaux-Arts style. The stunning Great Hall was recently restored to its original 1925 glory and is truly worth a look. I also recommend taking time to admire some of the station's original elements that remain today, including the long oak benches, beautiful light fixtures, and chandeliers. One funny memory from decades ago: I used to sit on those oak benches in the Great Hall waiting for my train, and the announcements were always so muffled that I could never figure out what they were saying! This time around, I could actually hear the announcements quite clearly. Chicago Union Station handles approximately 120,000 passengers daily. This makes it the third busiest rail terminal in the United States, serving both Amtrak and Metra passengers. It's an important part of Chicago's history and a remarkable transportation hub. That's quite impressive!

If you are traveling Amtrak First Class out of Chicago Union Station, utilizing the Metropolitan…read moreLounge is an absolute game-changer. The station itself is really nice inside, featuring stunning architecture and a grand atmosphere that makes the beginning of a trip feel special. We arrived at the station around 8:15pm for our 9:30pm train to New York, and the entire experience from start to finish was seamless. The staff are super friendly right from the start, and upon entry, they provide you with a bracelet to easily identify lounge guests. The lounge amenities are top-notch. They offered fresh fruit, a variety of individual snacks with helpful gluten-free labeling for dietary restrictions, a full coffee station, and a soda machine. Best of all, instead of having to watch the departure boards anxiously, the staff make an announcement when it's time to board and personally guide and escort you directly to your train. With their expert guidance, boarding was completely stress-free.

Last week was my first time taking a train into the city while visiting Great Lakes. I was…read moretraveling alone and a little nervous about getting into the city and unsure about the area that the Ogilvie Transportation Center is in. Reviews made it seem like a confusing place to navigate. I boarded the Union Pacific North Train Kine from Great Lakes just outside of the Navy Training Center. I purchased my ticket on the Ventra App and I boarded the train and took a seat. There were several stops along the way and the Ogilvie Transportation Center was the last stop. The Conductor visited the car I was riding in just a couple of stops before ending at Ogilvie to check and/or sell tickets. The Conductor was polite and patient. When I exited the train at Ogilvie, I just followed the crowd to the stairway into the station and then just chose to exit the building at the Canal Street exit whit turned out to be just perfect for starting my journey into Chicago for the day. At the end of the day, when I returned to Ogilvie, it took me a few minutes to figure out the train schedule and locate the right stairways onto the loading platform. They have large screens at each loading platform stairway entrance that shows where each train travels to and what time they leave. There are stairways on each side of the train station to get you to the train. One important thing to note is that for some stops, the first cars of the train, the doors do not open. So it's best to find a seat towards the back cars or make plans to walk through a couple of cars quickly to get to the exit doors that open. The Ogilvie Transportation Center was easier to navigate than I had thought.

Oh Ogilvie, where do I even start?!…read more I've been using Ogilvie Transportation Center ever since I was in high school. I think I've been to Ogilvie over a few thousand times - I'm not kidding. Literally I've been here so many times the last 10 years it easily has been over a thousand times. Ogilvie is BIG, and there are a lot of entrances, exits, and "secret" places you discover because it's just that big. This transportation center and Union are the two centers that house Metra. Metra is a whole other story, but I won't be reviewing Metra, just the center that houses it. First off, Ogilvie has tons of different types of spaces inside. There's offices, companies, restaurants, shops, bars, etc. There are TONS of food options on the ground level, from options like McDonald's, Popeyes, Sbarro, Mrs. Fields, Deep Purpl, Starbucks, and much more. There are some food restaurants here that I've literally never seen open which sucks because I'd like to try them. There's more upstairs and downstairs on the lower level, as well, but this is their main food court for commuters/riders. Downstairs, you'll find their Chicago French Market which reminds me of Pike's Place Market in Seattle. There's tons of food stations and shops. You can also access the tracks from taking the stairs up down there. There's bars and restaurants all around Ogilvie, too, on the outskirts that people can see from the outside. Ogilvie is kept pretty clean - there's always custodians cleaning the bathrooms and tables. It is pretty common for people to come up to you and ask you for money when you're chilling there. Also sometimes it's hard to find an Uber outside of it. The best part of Ogilvie is that a ton of Metra train tracks arrive and depart basically every hour that bring you all over the Burbs. Some Metra lines will go over to Union, the other transportation center that's super close to Ogilvie, and others will bring you here. This makes getting to and from the city super easy and convenient. Overall, Ogilvie is a great place to get some food, get in and out of the city, and stop for a drink after work!

My husband and I took the L train during our week long stay in Chicago. Clark/Late station is the…read moremajor transfer station because you switch off onto multiple lines. We were headed to Chicago Music Exchange on N Lincoln. Our route was Cermak-McCormick to Clark/Lake, where we transferred to the Brown line for the Paulina train stop. The station gets crowded! We were there midday on Tuesday on one of the hottest days in June. Fortunately, the signage was clear and we got to the correct platform. Plus the wait for the train wasn't long. Chicago has a great public transportation train system.

クラーク駅はオヘア空港に向かうブルーラインの駅です。 空港に直通で便利ですが1時間はかかります。…read more地上にはシカゴ名物のループの駅もあります。 シカゴの真冬はミシガン湖の風も相まって射すような寒さ。 駅すぐのリバーウオークは真冬には川に流氷が現れます。 冬以外は観光船で大賑わいです。 昔の話ですが、地下鉄は冬でも暖房はなかったです。 真冬のある日、私は空港に行くため朝4時に地下鉄に乗ると、 男性がベンチに横たわって寝てました。 車両には他に男性ふたり、私は少し離れて座りました。 次の駅で身なりの良い40代位の男性と、 中学生位の男の子が乗ってきました。 確実に親子だとおもいます。 3つ先の駅で降りる寸前、父親は寝てる男性のズボンのポケットに いくらかのお札をねじ込んで降りていきました。 息子は父の姿を見て無言で後ろについて降りていきました。 当然、寝てる男性は気づいてます。 でも、それから1時間近く終点の空港まで微動だにしませんでした。 空港到着、皆が降りていきます。 彼はどうするのだろう。私は最後まで座席にいました。 すると、彼は身体を動かすでもなく、顔を動かすでもなく、 寝たままポケットのお金をだして、 片目で確認するとそのままポケットに戻し目を閉じました。 夜が明けるまで　地下鉄で往復して過ごすのだと思います。 このふたりの男性、住む世界は天と地ほど違うと思うけど、 私は二人に共通する人間の奥にある何かを感じずにはいられませんでした。 帰宅して夫に話すと、そうだねと一言。 昔のことですが、今も鮮明に残っている光景です。 私は数年前から夫に次いで年金生活者になりました。 結婚時からお金は葬式代と僅かなものを残すだけでよいと 若い頃からふたりでたくさん旅に出ました。 歳を重ね、夫と旅の思い出を語る時間が本当に幸せです。 これからも旅に出て、（今は夫はお留守番、土産話聞き役となる） この世を去る寸前まで、この素晴らしい世界を見て行きたいです。 WBC観戦、4年後また絶対に行きます。 その時はシカゴから長距離列車でマイアミへ。 目標ができました。 おしまい。

While this is not the worst red line stop in Chicago, there are sometimes some characters around…read more It is, however, the perfect location for a stop, near lots of tourist points and 2 blocks from Michigan Avenue. I wouldn't recommend being there alone as a woman super early in the morning or super late at night.

Another CTA station, an underground one, is on Chicago Avenue. It has a whole lot to see around…read morehere. Kind of a bad atmosphere with all the homeless people but still not among the worst. Feels safer than many other stations but that's not saying a lot. There's never a long wait for trains. It has an incredibly busy location at Chicago Avenue and State Street with all the commuters and tourists coming and going. It serves the Red Line. This is between the Grand Avenue and Clark/Division stations. Inside there's kind of a bad odor and there's a few sketchy people but that's typical stuff around. There's plenty of other stations you can get to from here quickly. Has a shitload of shopping as if you didn't know. It has some fast food like McDonald's if the hipster food is too high brow for your tastes. The best thing about this station is no long waiting.

It was an easy walk from my hotel to the Millennium station to catch a train to the Obama center…read more It was such an easy process to get the train tix because the staff at the station were very helpful. There was even some stationed at the kiosk to purchase the tix to assist if needed. He also directed us to the correct area to catch the train and let us know what time the train was arriving.

this place sucks. We asked one simple question when the trains were down and they gave us wrong…read moredirections and then we got stranded in the middle of a not good place. Wth

Armitage is not bad as far as El stations go…read more What I like: + Armitage is among the cleanest I'd been to on the CTA + The station is easy to navigate + There are elevators for both the inbound and outbound platforms + The platforms have more than ample width + I can't fully write off that but if old school charm + While I've not used this station late at night, it feels safe What I don't like: - Coverage from the elements is limited - There is no countdown signage at platform level. The signs up there are old, red/green/orange LED ones. All they do is give you the time and remind you to step away from the edge. Thus, while there are some negatives, with help from the Transit app, this station is one of the better ones in the CTA.

I love taking public transportation everywhere because you don't have to deal with traffic. You can…read morebuy an all day pasta for five dollars for 24 hours which I think is a great deal and this station is nice because it's a link to so many food places around here and it's a very safe and fun neighborhood.

Clean station. Train to Joliet was on time. The tickets were easy to purchase through the Ventra…read moreapp. Anyone complaining about customer service should come to Philadelphia and see how blessed you are.

...so no one had a map, I was charged $15.75 instead of $8.75 for not buying my ticket at the…read morestation eventhough I was charged $8.75 on the train earlier. I was considering using this method of transportation but maybe it's cheaper to drive

This CTA station is located in the Loop. You'll board a blue line train from this station from an…read moreunderground subway platform. I normally use this station to get to or from O'Hare Airport. Everyone coming in from O'Hare and nearby hotels for the Chicago Marathon will most likely get off at this station as the start line is over in Grant Park.

Such interesting smells! Mmmmm. So not all public transit…read morestops in Chicago are ADA compliant. Some don't have wheelchair ramps, access points, or elevators. Some require that you hike a mountain of stairs. Jeesh. This one is accessible. It's a good point to be able to transfer between the red and blue lines of the CTA system. There are plenty of elevators. I just don't wanna think about what those puddles are in the elevators. There's a walkway that connects the two train lines, which could use more inspiration. Mexico City's subway has the Tunnel of Science where they try to teach you about scientific stuff with murals and such. Nothing like that here. At least they have some decorative tile "J" mosaics on the platforms. When I went, it wasn't so crowded.

A great "EL" stop right in the middle of Lincoln Park. A 15-20 minute walk to access the zoo,…read morenature museum, pond, and conservatory. Lots of beautiful architecture along the Fullerton avenue.

Nice and clean. Right next to DePaul. Safe. Clean station. 10/10 would get on the train here again.read more

Like New York City, Chicago has one of the best public transportation systems in the U.S. I've had…read moreseveral meetings in the Loop where my office is located. The trains are clean. The seats are comfortable. The conductors are professional, and most of all, the train is on time most of the time. I don't have to deal with expensive parking, and walk underground to the elevator to my office. Sweet! I go to the office twice a week and enjoy unwinding on the train. I prepare for meetings, too. The train takes you to the museums stop, Hyde Park, the south burbs, and the University of Chicago. It's the cheapest and most convenient way to visit the city.

I travel on Metra Electric when I use Public Transportation about 90% of the time. Its usually…read moregood. Yesterday there were electrical delays at Millenium Station during Rush Hour. Got on tje train more delays. The conducter was great. He didn't take our tickets. Today as I'm in Hyde Park waiting on the Metra now 8 minutes late, the announcer says it the train conductor doesn't see you, he won't stop. I get on. Riding south they pass my stop without any announcement. The conducter says its the Engineers fault with NO compassion or recourse just Mitchy Attitude. I said bacl the MF up! He said can't do that. I had to ride to tje end of the line wait 10 minutes and get home an hour past the time I should've been. Wouldn't you be pissed at such an easy fix? Mistakes are human but arrogance and incompetence are unacceptable!