Metra’s 2026 Holiday Trains will run on six lines. The Dec. 5 trips are on BNSF, Milwaukee District North and Rock Island; Dec. 12 service includes Metra Electric and UP Northwest; Metra Electric also has runs Dec. 13 and Dec. 19, with UP North service on Dec. 19, according to Metra.
Tickets cost $10 and go on sale at noon Central Time on Nov. 16. Metra’s ticket page sets a five-ticket purchase limit and says customers can pay by debit or credit card without a PayPal account. It also states that sales are final, with no refunds or exchanges for another Holiday Train date. Last year’s tickets sold out in four minutes, ABC7 Chicago reported.
Service and seasonal activities
The decorated trains will also operate within regular Metra service. On the Metra Electric Line, trips on Dec. 12, 13 and 19 will bring riders to a holiday event at Millennium Station with games, treats, Santa and other activities. Metra says holiday-character round trips are planned on select weekends, according to its 2026 Holiday Trains information.
WTTW News reported on an Oct. 27 visit to Metra’s 18th Street railyard. Rich Pickens, a director of mechanical operations, told WTTW that planning usually starts in September and the trains are ready by late November. Carpenters, electricians and cleaners contribute to the work.
Recent Metra ridership
Separate from Holiday Train ticket sales, Northern Illinois Transit Authority data show Metra ridership rose 8 percent in 2025, to nearly 38 million rides. That year-over-year figure offers a recent measure of demand, though it does not by itself show how far ridership has rebounded from its pandemic-era decline, according to the authority.
