Hello --

Planning another trip to Chicago and will stay at the Palmer House. For part of the trip, my dd will attend a dance workshop in Evanston on a Sat/Sun.

I don't want to switch hotels and would prefer to commute. I've checked the Chicago transit web site and it appears the trains run fairly regularly to and from Evanston.

Do I have any reason to doubt the reliability of this information? Also -it looks like about a 30-45 minute trip one way. Can anyone confirm this?

thanks!

I haven't done this in a few years, but I think it will take longer than that since it's a weekend. You're going to have to take the red line up to Howard then change there for the purple line. Unless it's changed I would count on something more like an hour to an hour-and-a-half. Again, if someone else has more current experience please correct me if I'm wrong.

I would look into taking the Metra train from the Northwest train station. It doesn't run as frequently, but it stops at Davis Street in Evanston and will be MUCH faster than the red line to purple line transfer that is necessary on weekends (and 90 minutes sounds about right for that).

The schedule is at www.metrarail.com.
HTH,
Tracy

My parents live in Evanston, and I've take the both Metra and the El train many, many times. Metra will be about 30-45 minutes. The Davis Street stop is right in downtown Evanston. Where is your dance workshop? The El is much slower than the the Metra, and you might end sitting at the Howard Street stop which is kind of scary.

The workshop is at the Giordano Center at 614 Davis St. According to the CTA trip planner, it's only about 5 blocks from the train station.

I must have been looking at the schedule for the Metra when computing timelines. 45 minutes is doable; 1.5 - 2 hrs would mean renting a car and driving (ugh!) for sure!

But I seem to remember someone telling me that the Metra did not run on the weekends -- ?? Is this true? Sure hope not, because it's looking like the best option.

thanks all!!

You might have been looking at the purple line schedule for weekdays -- it runs down the Loop and is faster. Pay attention to the Metra schedule since I'm guessing that it will be different from weekdays. I'm also not sure which station you'd use to get the train up there.

Metra absolutely runs on the weekends for the line you are looking for (Union Pacific District North). You can pick it up at the Ogilvie station in the loop. Here is the link to the schedules, just be sure to click on the correct link (Saturday vs. Sunday, Inbound vs. Outbound)
http://metrarail.com/Sched/cnw_n/cnwn.shtml

The trains run very much on schedule.

Make sure your daughter knows that both trains are convenient to the Giordano studio. SHe can use whichever system works best for her.

The El train runs from the State Street subway, right next to the Palmer House. Once she pays her fare at the turnstile, it's pretty straightforward. As others have pointed out, she will have to change trains at Howard, where the first line ends and the Evanston-only line departs. She won't have to leave the platform. My kids have used this train from their early teens without any problem. Figure about 75 minutes for a weekend trip.

The Metra is faster and nicer, but runs much less often. It starts at the station where Madison Street crosses the river, about 15-20 minutes walk from the Palmer House. The inside of this station can be confusing to navigate, so allow some extra time to buy a ticket and find the right train.

Thanks everyone. Metra looks like the way to go.

The Ogilvie staion is a bit far from the hotel -- does anyone know which bus to take over there?

many thanks!

The Number 20(Madison) bus, the 14 (Jeffery Express) or the number 56 (Milwaukee) will get her to Ogilvie Station. She can walk 1 block north on State and catch them on the NE corner of Madison and State.