O'Hare is a

Chicago "L" The Chicago "L" (short for "elevated") is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs in the U.S. state of Illinois. Operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), it is the fourth-largest rapid tr ...

station located at

O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, ...

, 17 miles (27 km) northwest of The Loop. The northwestern terminus of the

Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its surrounding suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago 'L' and CTA bus service. In , the system had a ridership of , o ...

's Blue Line, it is a subway station with two island platforms serving three tracks, situated under the parking garage for Terminals 1, 2, and 3. Trains are scheduled to depart from O'Hare every 2–7 minutes during rush-hour periods and take about 40 minutes to travel to the Loop. It is the westernmost station of the Chicago 'L' system. It is also the only station without coordinates in Chicago's grid system, the only underground terminus, and is the only terminal that does not directly connect to any CTA or Pace buses. It is also one of two terminals (the other being on the Yellow Line) that does not have a yard assigned to it (the yard is located at , one stop east).

History

O'Hare station opened on September 3, 1984, as the terminus of an extension of the West-Northwest route from its former terminal at River Road. It was built to a design by the architectural firm ''Murphy/Jahn''.

Introduction of premium fare

For the first 28 years of O'Hare station's operations, the fare passengers paid the same fare to enter it as they would at any other "L" station. The premium fare was imposed on O'Hare passengers in 2013; first (in January 2013), only passengers buying single-ride tickets had to pay the surcharge; by July of the same year, the surcharge was imposed on most other passengers (those using

Ventra Ventra is an electronic fare payment system for Regional Transportation Authority (Illinois) which replaced the Chicago Card and the Transit Card automated fare collection systems. Ventra (purportedly Latin for "windy," though the actual Latin wo ...

or a Ventra Card Plus) as well.

Accident

On March 24, 2014, a train approaching the station on the middle track collided with the

bumper Bumper or Bumpers may refer to: People * Betty Bumpers (1925-2018), American activist, First Lady of Arkansas, wife of Dale Bumpers * Dale Bumpers (1925–2016), American politician, governor of Arkansas and senator * Bumper Robinson (born 197 ...

, then jumped the tracks and crashed into the escalators, injuring 32 people.Commuter Train Derails at Chicago Airport (Yahoo News)
/ref> The station reopened on March 30, 2014, at 2:00 p.m.

Architecture

The station was designed by

Helmut Jahn Helmut Jahn (January 4, 1940 – May 8, 2021) was a German-American architect, known for projects such as the Sony Center on Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, Germany; the Messeturm in Frankfurt, Germany; the Thompson Center in Chicago; One Liberty ...

of Murphy/Jahn in the distinctive

Postmodernism Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or Rhetorical modes, mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by philosophical skepticism, skepticis ...

style. The column-free platform is paved with concrete and the walls are constructed of wavy glass block with backlighting. The mezzanine is designed to mimic an airplane fuselage.

Bus and rail connections

Take Airport Transit System to the Multi-Modal Facility (MMF) Stop to access connections Airport Transit System * To Terminals 1, 2, 3, 5, and Multi-Modal Facility

Metra Metra is the commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 242 stations on 11 rail lines. I ...

North Central Service The North Central Service (NCS) is a Metra commuter rail line running from Union Station in downtown Chicago through northwestern and far northern suburbs to Antioch, Illinois. In June 2018, the public timetable shows 10 weekday departures from C ...

at O’Hare Transfer Station (via the Airport Transit System to Multi-Modal Facility)

Pace Pace or paces may refer to: Business *Pace (transit), a bus operator in the suburbs of Chicago, US * Pace Airlines, an American charter airline *Pace Foods, a maker of a popular brand of salsa sold in North America, owned by Campbell Soup Compan ...

* 250 Dempster Street * 330 Mannheim/LaGrange Roads

References

External links

Train schedule (PDF)
a
CTA official site
{{Chicago "L" stations navbox, Blue=Yes CTA Blue Line stations Chicago "L" terminal stations CTA stations located underground Airport railway stations in the United States Railway stations in the United States opened in 1984 O'Hare International Airport 1984 establishments in Illinois