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Layover guideChicago · ORD · MDW

Getting out of the airport in Chicago

The Blue Line runs 24 hours to downtown in about 40 minutes, and a day pass costs the same as one fare out of the airport.

Baron Maddock / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0
All of Chicago

CTA runs the Blue Line at all times, every day, between O'Hare and the Forest Park terminal via downtown Chicago. A 0300 arrival is served by the same line as a midday one, which is the whole argument for using it.

Choose Chicago puts Blue Line service from O'Hare to downtown at about 40 minutes. The value of that figure is that it holds. It does not move with the traffic on the Kennedy Expressway.

CTA charges a higher fare that is deducted on entry at O'Hare station only. Leaving the airport by train costs more than any other trip on the network, and the premium is not charged when you travel in the other direction to catch a flight.

The premium does not apply to pass holders. A one-day pass and a single premium entry at O'Hare are published at the same price, so buying the pass instead of the single fare gives a day of unlimited travel for what the ride into town costs anyway.

Pay with a Ventra card, a contactless bank card, or a phone. Cash is accepted on buses only, and a cash bus fare issues no transfer. Fare-paid rides include up to two further rides free within two hours.

  1. CTA: Fares · checked 2026-09-03
  2. CTA: Blue Line · checked 2026-09-03
  3. Northern Illinois Transit Authority: Paying for Your Ride · checked 2026-09-03
  4. Choose Chicago: Getting Around · checked 2026-09-03

The rest of Chicago

The whole guide
Ride-hailingCards work in every taxi, so you do not need cash before leaving the terminal.Local laws that catch crew outCannabis is legal to buy in Illinois and will still end your career if you carry it back to the airport.Staying connectedWi-Fi is free and unlimited throughout O'Hare and Midway, before and after security, once you watch an ad.WeatherJanuary averages a high of 31.6F and a low of 18.8F with 11.3 inches of snow, and a uniform coat is not enough kit.Eating near the crew hotelsAlcohol sales stop at 2am, or 3am on Saturday night, unless a bar has a late-hour licence, and food and drink in three zones, both airports included, carry an extra 1% tax.What to buyThe shelf price is never the price you pay, and there is no visitor refund scheme to claim the tax back.TippingA tip here is wage, not a bonus, and a service charge on the bill is not a tip.