# Midway to Union Station via CTA



## JayPea (May 17, 2009)

In July I am joining my uncle for the (in)famous Slidell loophole trip. I'm flying (there's that nasty F word :lol: ) from Spokane to Midway, and, as he lives in downstate Illinois between Bloomington and Champaign, I'm taking the Lincoln Service train #305. I've decided to take the CTA train from Midway to Union Station-or at least the vicinity thereof. I have a few questions:

1) How easy is it to go from the baggage claim to the Midway CTA station? I have a map of Midway but it is rather sparse in detail.

2) In looking into this, I see I take the Orange line from Midway and the nearest CTA station to Union Station is the Quincy Street station. Are there stairs or an escalator here? I travel light; a medium suitcase, backpack, and small camera bag, so steps won't be a problem, but I just want to know what to expect.

3) From a map of the CTA system I have, it looks like it's just a three block walk between Quincy Street and Union Station, with Union Station being west of Quincy and across the river. And in case my occasional dyslexia acts up :lol: the Sears Tower is between the two. Even I couldn't miss that!! It looks simple enough but I want to make sure. Keep in mind I'm a bumpkin who grew up in a town of 500 and live in a town of 2900 and about the only mass transit, especially in town #1 is the school buses. :lol: Is it as easy as it looks?

4) About how long can I expect for the journey between the two to take? My flight arrives about 2:50 and the 305 leaves at 5:15. And in case my flight is delayed, I know another Chicago-Bloomington train leaves at 7PM or another option if need be would be the City of New Orleans to Champaign which leaves at 8. I have other options, so it's not as if I'm stuck should my flight be delayed. But, again, I just want to be sure.

We're taking the CONO from Champaign to New Orleans so we'll get a bonus overnighter before the 6 day 5 night Loophole trip. I'm looking forward to it!


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## edibot42 (May 17, 2009)

Just what _IS_ the Sidell loophole? I've seen it mentioned but never explained.


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## AlanB (May 17, 2009)

JayPea said:


> 1) How easy is it to go from the baggage claim to the Midway CTA station? I have a map of Midway but it is rather sparse in detail.


I've never done it but I don't think it's all that hard. Might be a bit of walk, but nothing terrible.



JayPea said:


> 2) In looking into this, I see I take the Orange line from Midway and the nearest CTA station to Union Station is the Quincy Street station. Are there stairs or an escalator here? I travel light; a medium suitcase, backpack, and small camera bag, so steps won't be a problem, but I just want to know what to expect.


No escalators or elevators at Quincy/Wells. You'll have to carry things down the stairs.



JayPea said:


> 3) From a map of the CTA system I have, it looks like it's just a three block walk between Quincy Street and Union Station, with Union Station being west of Quincy and across the river. And in case my occasional dyslexia acts up :lol: the Sears Tower is between the two. Even I couldn't miss that!! It looks simple enough but I want to make sure. Keep in mind I'm a bumpkin who grew up in a town of 500 and live in a town of 2900 and about the only mass transit, especially in town #1 is the school buses. :lol: Is it as easy as it looks?


It's not hard at all. It's a very simple walk and you can't miss the station as it is immediately after you cross the bridge.



JayPea said:


> 4) About how long can I expect for the journey between the two to take? My flight arrives about 2:50 and the 305 leaves at 5:15. And in case my flight is delayed, I know another Chicago-Bloomington train leaves at 7PM or another option if need be would be the City of New Orleans to Champaign which leaves at 8. I have other options, so it's not as if I'm stuck should my flight be delayed. But, again, I just want to be sure.


I'm thinking that with walking at both ends and whatnot, you'll need about 45 minutes to a hour to complete the trip. Members from Chicago may know better than I on that one.


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## photoeditor (May 17, 2009)

Orange Line from Midway to Quincy should take 25 minutes actual running time. The train goes clockwise around the Loop so Quincy will be one of the first few downtown stops (which means, for future reference, that it's about 32 minutes from Quincy back out to the airport). Headways between trains at the time of day you're arriving are seven to ten minutes. Southwest baggage reclaim at Midway can be a bit slow -- I've waited as much as a half hour -- so bear that in mind. Midway station is some distance from the terminal due to bad planning, but at least the walk is indoors. Quincy station itself is probably the least renovated, but most restored, station in the system; it's the one they use for movie shoots, so it basically has its 1920s appearance, varnished woodwork, copperplate typefaces and all (i.e. bring your camera). But that does mean a lot of stairs to negotiate. At least you get to go down stairs, not up. Overall, I'd expect your plane could be as much as an hour late and you'd still make your Amtrak connection. With an on time arrival at Midway (with the resulting quicker baggage handling as well) you'll have plenty of time at Union Station because you'll get there well before 4pm. By the way, when you get to Quincy, go out the station to the north (the way the train is heading), and walk west over to Union Station along the left side of Adams Street and use the entrance on your left almost immediately after crossing the Chicago River (i.e. before you get to the main station building). By doing this, you'll go straight down an escalator to the check-in/ticketing area and save yourself some more stairs. But be sure once you're in the station to walk through the tunnel into the Great Hall and take a quick look around, it's very impressive indeed.


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## John Bredin (May 17, 2009)

If you have wheeled luggage, I wouldn't get off the Orange Line at Quincy. Washington/Wells is the next stop after Quincy/Wells, but it's a modern station with elevators. In my experience, rolling luggage the extra two "blocks" (downtown blocks are half the size of the 8-to-a-mile blocks outside downtown) is better than clambering luggage down the long and relatively steep and narrow staircases at Quincy. There are curb cuts (for wheelchairs, etc.) at every intersection downtown.

By the time you get to Union Station, the riverside entrance mentioned by *photoeditor* will starting to be busy with impatient home-bound commuters. If you continue a short distance along Adams Street to the first intersection (Canal Street) and head left/south, without crossing Canal, so that the old station building is on the _other_ side of the street, there's an entrance mid-block with elevators that will take you _directly_ to ticketing/baggage.

I second *photoeditor*'s suggestion to see the Great Hall. It's not far off the beaten path, a little west of the ticketing area, and worth seeing even if you have only a minute or two to spare.


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## jphjaxfl (May 17, 2009)

A few years back, I attended a conference in San Francisco so I flew to Chicago took the Orange to Quincy and walked to Union Station to take the CZ and connecting bus to SF. I had shipped my larger luggage to the hotel in SF so was traveling fairly light with a brief case and a smaller duffle for the train. Everything went very smoothly probably an hour at the most from the time I walked off the plane at Midway til I arrived at the Metro Lounge at Union Station. Chicago is not as transit friendly as some of the eastern cities but you can still make it work.


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## JayPea (May 17, 2009)

Thanks, everyone, for your helpful replies. I've been to Union Station before, and in fact was just there a couple of months ago, but it's been years since I've gone anywhere to and from Union Station other than by way of Amtrak. While visiting in Illinois, I've gone to several Cubs games, and in fact have taken the CTA to get there, but it has been so many years since I did that I just don't remember the details. I do have a wheeled suitcase but it's rather large; for ease of travel I'll stick to my circa 1978 suitcase. I do hope to be able to arrive in time to get a glimpse around the Great Hall; I've enjoyed doing so on every trip through Union Station.



edibot42 said:


> Just what _IS_ the Sidell loophole? I've seen it mentioned but never explained.


The Slidell loophole is a trip in which, for a 2-zone Amtrak Guest Rewards award trip, you go from Slidell, LA (first stop on the Crescent east of New Orleans) to Los Angeles the l-o-o-o-o-ng way: Slidell to Washington DC by way of the Crescent; Washington DC to Chicago by way of the Capitol Limited; Chicago to Portland by way of the Empire Builder, and Portland to Los Angeles by way of the Coast Starlight. That adds up to six days and five nights on the various trains. I booked the trip just under the wire; this routing is no longer an option, apparently. Now the only routing option for this trip is Slidell to Chicago as before, but from Chicago to Los Angeles, the only option that appears to come up is the Southwest Chief. At least that's the only option I see on Amtrak's website. I hope that explains it and it's not clear as mud to you now! :lol:


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## PaulM (May 17, 2009)

JayPea said:


> The Slidell loophole is a trip in which, for a 2-zone Amtrak Guest Rewards award trip, you go from Slidell, LA (first stop on the Crescent east of New Orleans) to Los Angeles the l-o-o-o-o-ng way: Slidell to Washington DC by way of the Crescent; Washington DC to Chicago by way of the Capitol Limited; Chicago to Portland by way of the Empire Builder, and Portland to Los Angeles by way of the Coast Starlight. That adds up to six days and five nights on the various trains. I booked the trip just under the wire; this routing is no longer an option, apparently. Now the only routing option for this trip is Slidell to Chicago as before, but from Chicago to Los Angeles, the only option that appears to come up is the Southwest Chief. At least that's the only option I see on Amtrak's website. I hope that explains it and it's not clear as mud to you now! :lol:


I reported a different result in a recent thread (rant?) entitled "Yet another guaranteed connection question". See question 2 shown below. Of course Slidell - LA isn't the same thing as CHI-SLO. But why not? If A-B-C and B-C-D are good, why not A-B-C-D?



PaulM said:


> DivMiler said:
> 
> 
> > But will AGR do that (allow me to go to New York City to change)? I was under the impression that it wouldn't because the itinerary didn't show up in the regular schedule.
> ...


In response to my post, AlanB indicated he did get a CHI-PDX-SLO connection for Jan 15. As I indicated above, the results may vary.


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## AudenHoggart (May 17, 2009)

If you're connecting from Midway to an Amtrak to Bloomington, there's another option if you're running late at Midway. Amtrak trains on the Chicago-St. Louis line stop at Summit about twenty minutes after leaving Chicago Union Station. Summit is just a few miles west of Midway Airport, and a short cab ride.


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## ourlouisiana (May 18, 2009)

When we went to CHI last year, we opted to stay at the COmfort Inn at Midway. It's about half an hour trip, give or take. We spent a few days, so we were never in a hurry. THe station at Quincy has no escalator.

We did find that while Chicago has a fantastic transit system, the directions and locations of the stops and stations are vague. ANd don't ask anyone from Chicago where to catch a specific L train. We were misguided and heard .... hmmmm, I'm not sure, maybe that way. Guess if it's not the line they take every day, they don't have a clue !!!!


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## RTOlson (May 19, 2009)

If you can, grab a CTA map. They're really detailed and spell things out pretty well.


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## JayPea (May 19, 2009)

AudenHoggart said:


> If you're connecting from Midway to an Amtrak to Bloomington, there's another option if you're running late at Midway. Amtrak trains on the Chicago-St. Louis line stop at Summit about twenty minutes after leaving Chicago Union Station. Summit is just a few miles west of Midway Airport, and a short cab ride.



I didn't realize that. I will definitely keep that in mind. Thanks! In fact, that might be a better option anyway. If I can't afford the cost of a cab vs. the cost of a CTA pass then I have no business going anyway! :lol:


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## brianpmcdonnell17 (Mar 13, 2018)

In a few weeks, I will be arriving Chicago on Amtrak and transferring to the Brown Line to get to my hotel in Lincoln Park. I have used Quincy station multiple times and feel comfortable carrying my luggage up the stairs, but I forgot how the turnstiles are set up. I have one very large bag, so is there an extra wide turnstile or gate that can be opened?


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## SarahZ (Mar 13, 2018)

brianpmcdonnell17 said:


> In a few weeks, I will be arriving Chicago on Amtrak and transferring to the Brown Line to get to my hotel in Lincoln Park. I have used Quincy station multiple times and feel comfortable carrying my luggage up the stairs, but I forgot how the turnstiles are set up. I have one very large bag, so is there an extra wide turnstile or gate that can be opened?


Quincy hasn't been converted to "handicap accessible" yet.

You're better off using Washington/Wells, which has the larger gate for those in wheelchairs.


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## Trogdor (Mar 13, 2018)

How large is "very large"? Most luggage can be carried through a regular turnstile without too much effort.


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## HP_Lovecraft (Mar 13, 2018)

Quincy is probobly my favorite station. They are giving it a cool, retro-vintage restoration. Elevators are being installed, but much of it was boarded up when I was there last month, so hard to judge how far along they are.

Not much room for large bags:


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## SarahZ (Mar 13, 2018)

HP_Lovecraft said:


> Quincy is probobly my favorite station.


Mine too. I love the vintage posters. They really add to the overall feel.


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## bratkinson (Mar 14, 2018)

While killing time between trains yesterday in Chicago, I took a joy ride on the CTA, starting, of course, at Quincy/Wells station. It took a couple of moments for this 70 year old to figure out there new Ventra fare card system, but the very friendly station clerk/agent had me all squared away in a minute. As far as large luggage, or baby strollers, etc, goes, I'm sure they've dealt with it before. If it cant be slipped under the turnstile, the agent should be able to unlock the gate at the side of the turnstiles and let you through. I'm sure that's how they handle bicycles and the like.

As it turns out, a trip out and back to Midway was part of my joy ride. As I needed to find a restroom at Midway, I discovered it was a lengthy, much convoluted,7-8 minute walk from the L station to the terminal. If your luggage doesn't have wheels, you'll need the strength of a body builder to carry it that distance.


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## Devil's Advocate (Mar 14, 2018)

bratkinson said:


> As far as large luggage, or baby strollers, etc, goes, I'm sure they've dealt with it before. If it cant be slipped under the turnstile, the agent should be able to unlock the gate at the side of the turnstiles and let you through. I'm sure that's how they handle bicycles and the like. As it turns out, a trip out and back to Midway was part of my joy ride. As I needed to find a restroom at Midway, I discovered it was a lengthy, much convoluted,7-8 minute walk from the L station to the terminal. If your luggage doesn't have wheels, you'll need the strength of a body builder to carry it that distance.


Are you talking about the gate to the right of the turnstiles? It honestly doesn't look that much larger than the turnstiles themselves. It might be large enough for full size luggage turned sideways but I'm struggling to visualize a standard sized in-use wheelchair passing through that opening. The walk between the terminals at Midway and the Orange Line is so long and laborious that I cannot help but think one or more taxi/shuttle/limo/parking/paving related companies/associations must have bribed someone to create such a tedious weather exposed mess out of it. If that's not the case then it's even more embarrassing to think this was the best they could manage. I tend to balk at people who complain about the relatively short walk/ride between SAC and the train platforms, but in my view MDW's poorly implemented Orange Line connection is well deserving of criticism and derision.


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## Trogdor (Mar 14, 2018)

Devil's Advocate said:


> Are you talking about the gate to the right of the turnstiles? It honestly doesn't look that much larger than the turnstiles themselves. It might be large enough for full size luggage turned sideways but I'm struggling to visualize a standard sized in-use wheelchair passing through that opening.


That station isn't wheelchair accessible.


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## bratkinson (Mar 14, 2018)

Even though the gate appears narrow, and I didn't scrutinize it as I went through the turnstile, I think it should fit most luggage, sideways, if need be. As for wheel chairs, having several friends in wheelchairs these days, even an 'extra large' wheelchair, they're all collapsible, so they should be able to fit through the 'narrows'. But then, getting a person that is wheelchair bound up about 40 steps is a whole 'nother issue...

Would a double-wide baby stroller fit? How about a triple? But then, how many parents with under-3 kids would even attempt those stairs?


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## greatcats (Mar 14, 2018)

I agree that it is quite a hike from Midway to the Orange Line. We used it In December going into the city, but on the return trip arrived via Uber, which frankly was more pleasant.

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## brianpmcdonnell17 (Mar 15, 2018)

For future information, I just got an email back from the CTA stating that the new elevators along with wider turnstiles will be opened by the end of June. Also, my bag is about 2 1/2' tall, 2' wide, and 1 1/2' long.


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## John Bredin (Mar 15, 2018)

Devil's Advocate said:


> The walk between the terminals at Midway and the Orange Line is so long and laborious that I cannot help but think one or more taxi/shuttle/limo/parking/paving related companies/associations must have bribed someone to create such a tedious weather exposed mess out of it. If that's not the case then it's even more embarrassing to think this was the best they could manage. I tend to balk at people who complain about the relatively short walk/ride between SAC and the train platforms, but in my view MDW's poorly implemented Orange Line connection is well deserving of criticism and derision.


The Orange Line was always intended to terminate not at Midway but a couple miles south at Ford City shopping center. Ford City isn't what it was back in the late '80s when the Orange Line was planned, but the CTA still has plans for a Ford City extension if they ever get funding.

The Orange Line was thus designed and built to serve Midway using an existing railroad right-of-way and then continue south in the same right-of-way to Ford City. Much of the Orange Line was similarly built on railroad right-of-way.


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## SubwayNut (Mar 15, 2018)

The Seattle airport has a similarly long walk from the Link light rail stop through a parking garage, which I find long and annoying, but the line now extended one stop South to Angle Lake it make sense, to not make the airport a stub-end terminal. BARTs SFO Airport Station is one Ill never understand since you have to transfer to their Airtrain to get to most of the terminals anyway.


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## AmtrakBlue (Mar 15, 2018)

SubwayNut said:


> The Seattle airport has a similarly long walk from the Link light rail stop through a parking garage, which I find long and annoying, but the line now extended one stop South to Angle Lake it make sense, to not make the airport a stub-end terminal. BARTs SFO Airport Station is one Ill never understand since you have to transfer to their Airtrain to get to most of the terminals anyway.


I was waiting for someone to mention Seattle. I just did that walk from the terminal to the Link station about 2 weeks ago.

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## jis (Mar 15, 2018)

At SFO it was either going to be the automatic people mover or a bunch of long travelator, since there is no way that BART was going to visit every terminal.

Seatac could consider putting in a travelator at least through the parking garage.

If you have ever done the walk at London Heathrow from various terminals to the corresponding Tube Station or even the Heathrow Express station, or at FRA to even the people mover connecting the various terminal concourses, you would probably not be super distressed with the walk in Seatac.


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## Devil's Advocate (Mar 15, 2018)

John Bredin said:


> Devil's Advocate said:
> 
> 
> > The walk between the terminals at Midway and the Orange Line is so long and laborious that I cannot help but think one or more taxi/shuttle/limo/parking/paving related companies/associations must have bribed someone to create such a tedious weather exposed mess out of it. If that's not the case then it's even more embarrassing to think this was the best they could manage. I tend to balk at people who complain about the relatively short walk/ride between SAC and the train platforms, but in my view MDW's poorly implemented Orange Line connection is well deserving of criticism and derision.
> ...


As Jis already alluded it's fairly rare for a conventional heavy metro line to reach deep into the terminal areas of a major airport. It's much more common for enclosed heated/cooled walkways with travelators and/or automated people movers to connect passengers between their terminal and the nearest metro station. That would honestly be enough for me. The connection between MDW and CTA has improved over time but it still has a long way to go before it's as quick and practical as it should be for a major airport servicing a massive metro. Hopefully they'll eventually get that rectified.


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## Maglev (Mar 15, 2018)

My father was much more knowledgeable about politics than I am, and also had a small bit to do with the planning of BART (we lived in the Bay Area 1965-1967). He led me to believe that there was a conspiracy by the taxi companies to keep transit out of airport terminals.

For example, at SeaTac, why didn't the light rail go above (or even below) the roadways in front of the terminal? Why on the far side of the parking garage?


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## SubwayNut (Mar 15, 2018)

At SFO Ill never understand why they didnt just build

The Airtrain to Milbrae so Caltrain riders could also get a one transfer ride, today Caltrain riders have a 3 transfer ride (during weekdays).

1. At Milbrae board a RIC red line train, ride one stop

2. At San Bruno transfer to an SFO Airport Train, ride one stop

3. Get off at SFO Airport and take the Airtrain to your terminal.


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## jis (Mar 15, 2018)

Because the Airtrain is a remarkably slow mode of transport.

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## Trogdor (Mar 15, 2018)

jis said:


> Because the Airtrain is a remarkably slow mode of transport.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Amtrak Forum


It can't be that much slower than the multi-transfer option that currently exists (though, in theory, one riding BART to the airport doesn't need to then take Airtrain, as it is possible to walk from the BART stop to any terminal, entering through the International terminal; it requires a bit of a walk, but it's doable...I do it once every month or two).


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## Bob Dylan (Mar 15, 2018)

The Best Rail Transport to/from the Airport in the US IMO are Philadelphia,Denver,Chicago O'Hare and Portland,OR. with Dallas/Ft Worth making excellent progress on getting to DFW.

I'm not up to date with the Asian and European Systems, but in Canada, Vancouver and Toronto have very good systems.


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## Maglev (Mar 15, 2018)

The Honolulu rail transit station at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport I think is going to be fairly close to the terminals.


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## jebr (Mar 15, 2018)

Bob Dylan said:


> The Best Rail Transport to/from the Airport in the US IMO are Philadelphia,Denver,Chicago O'Hare and Portland,OR. with Dallas/Ft Worth making excellent progress on getting to DFW.


In my opinion, MSP is at least as good as O'Hare for urban rail connections (there's no commuter rail to MSP, but ORD's is rather infrequent at best.) Especially once travel time to the downtown core is accounted for, MSP has perhaps one of the most convenient rail options to compete against private automobile, at least if you're going to downtown Minneapolis. Of course, some of that is simply due to the location of the airport, but it's about as fast as a taxi to downtown overall.

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## SarahZ (Mar 15, 2018)

I feel like it's the same distance from the Blue Line to O'Hare's Terminal 3 (my most frequently used) as compared to the distance from the Orange Line to the gates at Midway, but the trek to and from the Orange Line simply _feels _longer and is 10x more annoying.

I believe part of that is due to much of it being exposed to the elements (though, they do try to heat that section). Additionally, O'Hare has moving walkways, elevators, and escalators. Midway has an escalator going up, but you have to navigate stairs to go down. Midway also has doors that do not open automatically. The entire thing is a right pain in the rear.

The next time I'm in Chicago and have scads of unstructured free time, I might do a comparison walk at both airports. I measured the walk from the Metropolitan Lounge to my Seattle sleeper on the EB a few years ago, so why not?


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## jis (Mar 15, 2018)

Bob Dylan said:


> The Best Rail Transport to/from the Airport in the US IMO are Philadelphia,Denver,Chicago O'Hare and Portland,OR. with Dallas/Ft Worth making excellent progress on getting to DFW.
> 
> I'm not up to date with the Asian and European Systems, but in Canada, Vancouver and Toronto have very good systems.


I think Newark does fine too, specially with direct Amtrak connection. Milwaukee also comes to mind. JFK is in principle no different from Newark or SFO, with the Air Train taking you to the main rail/subway connection.


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## railiner (Mar 15, 2018)

If you count light rail, St. Louis Lambert Field has pretty good service. And Boston Logan has the Blue Line a shuttle bus away, as well as the direct-into-the-subway, hybrid, dual-mode Silver Line to South Station....


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## Pere Flyer (Mar 15, 2018)

MARTA’s ATL stop is steps away from bag claim and check-in services and is served by both Red and Gold lines for a functional 6 min peak frequency. I’d put that in a list of top rail-air connections.

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## brianpmcdonnell17 (Mar 16, 2018)

If we're just listing airports that have rail connections than Miami, Baltimore, Phoenix, Cleveland, and Washington National are also on that list.


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## Ryan (Mar 16, 2018)

You may notice that we’re not simply listing airports with rail connections, but discussing the setup and relative convenience of them.

To help fill out your list, I can speak to DCA and BWI.

DCA is among the best, as long as you aren’t flying out of the A terminal. Frequent WMATA Blue and Yellow line service drops you off a short walk from the terminal. It’s enclosed the entire way, and provides moving walkways to speed the trip.

BWI has two connections. The Light Rail terminates at the international end of the terminal, from there you can walk all the way around to the Southwest side in a few minutes. The Amtrak/MARC Station is a ~5 minute shuttle bus ride away. Bus frequency could be better, but it’s mostly effortless. The bus does make sever stops at the air terminal, so walking is minimal.


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## brianpmcdonnell17 (Mar 16, 2018)

Ryan said:


> You may notice that were not simply listing airports with rail connections, but discussing the setup and relative convenience of them.
> 
> To help fill out your list, I can speak to DCA and BWI.
> 
> ...


Thank you for the additional info. Most of the ones on my list I have never actually been to so just wanted to open them up to discussion for those that have.


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## HP_Lovecraft (Mar 16, 2018)

> And Boston Logan has the Blue Line a shuttle bus away, as well as the direct-into-the-subway, hybrid, dual-mode Silver Line to South Station


Logan to South Station is not bad at all. Direct Silver line. Logan to the closer North Station? Terrible. Airport shuttle, transfer to blue line. Transfer to orange line, Transfer from North Station (subway) to North Station (rail). Sucks. Last time I had to make this connection, I gave up, and asked a stranger to split a taxi.

LIke said above DCA is great. I wish the Dulles subway extension would happen in my lifetime. We flew out of Dulles once just to see what is (IMO) the best museum in the DC area. But the bus ride was long and unpleasant, we agreed to never do that trip again until the subway is finished.


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## afigg (Mar 16, 2018)

HP_Lovecraft said:


> Logan to South Station is not bad at all. Direct Silver line. Logan to the closer North Station? Terrible. Airport shuttle, transfer to blue line. Transfer to orange line, Transfer from North Station (subway) to North Station (rail). Sucks. Last time I had to make this connection, I gave up, and asked a stranger to split a taxi.
> 
> LIke said above DCA is great. I wish the Dulles subway extension would happen in my lifetime. We flew out of Dulles once just to see what is (IMO) the best museum in the DC area. But the bus ride was long and unpleasant, we agreed to never do that trip again until the subway is finished.


Hope your expected lifetime extends to 2020. The construction of the DC Metro Silver Line Phase 2 extension is well along. The Dulles Airport station appears to be mostly built-out as are most of the Phase 2 stations, tracks have even been laid down in the median and elevated guideway for parts of the 11.5 mile Phase 2 extension. The reports are that the project is still on the (revised) schedule with Phase 2 supposed to open sometime in 2020 (hopefully early 2020).

The Metro station at Dulles, however, will be some distance from the front of the main terminal building. There was a major dispute on where the station and tracks would go at the airport terminal. Locating the station and tracks under and near the front of the terminal building was going to be quite expensive; the decision was to save around $500 million and put the Dulles station on elevated tracks on the far side of the short term parking lot from the terminal. From the Dulles Metro station platform, the route will be to take an escalator or elevator down to a pedestrian tunnel that runs under the parking lot. The hike will be about 550' to the front of the terminal, but there are slidewalks in the existing tunnel. Then from go up into the terminal to the check-in counters and security checkpoint. Dulles airport is a rather spread out setup, so there can be a lot of walking and towing your suitcase to the checkpoints, then the Aerotrain to get to the gate even from the front entrance.


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## cpotisch (Mar 19, 2018)

HP_Lovecraft said:


> > And Boston Logan has the Blue Line a shuttle bus away, as well as the direct-into-the-subway, hybrid, dual-mode Silver Line to South Station
> 
> 
> Logan to South Station is not bad at all. Direct Silver line. Logan to the closer North Station? Terrible. Airport shuttle, transfer to blue line. Transfer to orange line, Transfer from North Station (subway) to North Station (rail). Sucks. Last time I had to make this connection, I gave up, and asked a stranger to split a taxi.
> ...


Can't you just go Silver-Red-Green to get to North Station? Yes it's two transfers, but it's by no means terrible.


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## jis (Mar 19, 2018)

Silver - Red - Green would involve way less walking for sure.





I have used the Silver Line Connector bus service from IAD to Wiehle-Reston East many times, and it is really quite usable, and while not as convenient as the train dropping you off on the other side of the Parking Lot (which is what it will be when Silver Line is built out to Dulles), it is not unusably inconvenient either, even with some amount of baggage.


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## Metra Electric Rider (Mar 19, 2018)

I'm surprised this thread has gone on so long. One thing to keep in mind about Midway is it's the secondary (if older) Chicago airport and the route from the Orange Line into the terminal has been changed several times (which of course, has been mentioned). I think I just read, however, that there are going to be some new improvements in the terminal, but I can't remember when, but that they included improving the route, yet again, from the station into the terminal.

Two bits of airport subway trivia:

1. In the ancient annals of Chicago subway plans (of which there are, well, many many many) there was supposed to be a subway under Archer out to Midway in the 30's, if not late 20's.

2. Cleveland was the first American city with a subway connection to it's airport.


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## SubwayNut (Mar 19, 2018)

And Clevelands airport connection is super easy! with the train arriving right in the terminal (Ive used it).

Had a funny moment involving the light rail on a 3 hour layover at the MSP airport a few years ago. A friend who lives there - who I hadnt seen in a few - decided to pick me up so we could spend some tougher. I arrived at a gate right across from the exit to the bridge directly to the Light rail station (and other connecting buses) unforchunately since she was picking me up in her private vehicle I had to take the tram (our walk/use moving walkways) to the main terminal area and baggage claim to go to the main arrivals curb.

MSP is a great Airport (particularly if not checking luggage) for light rail connections.


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## Trogdor (Mar 19, 2018)

Metra Electric Rider said:


> Two bits of airport subway trivia:
> 
> 1. In the ancient annals of Chicago subway plans (of which there are, well, many many many) there was supposed to be a subway under Archer out to Midway in the 30's, if not late 20's.


In addition, there have been various plans off and on to extend the Englewood (now Ashland/63 Green Line) branch to Midway.

Also, one extra bit of odd trivia, the photograph in post #16 can be dated to some time between April 2007 and December 2008, when the Purple and Brown Lines temporarily shared the same track around the Loop (otherwise, the Purple Line would not be at that entrance).


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## Railroad Bill (Mar 20, 2018)

Unfortunately, Cleveland's airport is as far away as you can get to the Amtrak station. There is good Rapid service to downtown but then you would need a cab to get to the CLE on the shoreway. There is a Rapid line that runs past the Amtrak station but it does not operate when Amtrak trains arrive at 1-2-3am in the morning. Go figure.


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## Devil's Advocate (Mar 20, 2018)

Railroad Bill said:


> does not operate when Amtrak trains arrive at 1-2-3am in the morning


That's certainly the case in my town as well.

Taxis and Lyft/Uber are still available but connecting to/from our public transportation is often impractical or impossible and car rentals are a $50 ride away thanks to punitive taxi rates and late night surge pricing.


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## Metra Electric Rider (Mar 20, 2018)

Trogdor said:


> Metra Electric Rider said:
> 
> 
> > Two bits of airport subway trivia:
> ...


I for the life of me, cannot find any links to those proposals or a good map - do you have one?


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## Trogdor (Mar 20, 2018)

Metra Electric Rider said:


> Trogdor said:
> 
> 
> > Metra Electric Rider said:
> ...



They aren't recent proposals, but here's one from 1958: http://www.chicago-l.org/plans/NewHorizons1958.html

Here's reference to one from 1973 of a plan for service by 1995: http://www.chicago-l.org/plans/1995plan.html

...and I found this reference from 1923: http://www.chicago-l.org/plans/1923plan.html While it doesn't reference "Midway Airport" (which didn't even exist back then, as Chicago Municipal Airport opened in 1927), it mentions an elevated line to Austin Avenue connecting to the 63rd Englewood line, so it would have effectively gone past the airport property (and it's anyone's guess if the terminal would have been built closer to 63rd if such a line had existed back then).


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## Metra Electric Rider (Mar 21, 2018)

Trogdor said:


> Metra Electric Rider said:
> 
> 
> > I for the life of me, cannot find any links to those proposals or a good map - do you have one?
> ...


Thanks, but what's weird is I've seen one somewhere relatively recently (obviously not under serious consideration, unfortunately) - maybe a subway site?


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## NorthShore (Mar 28, 2018)

AudenHoggart said:


> If you're connecting from Midway to an Amtrak to Bloomington, there's another option if you're running late at Midway. Amtrak trains on the Chicago-St. Louis line stop at Summit about twenty minutes after leaving Chicago Union Station. Summit is just a few miles west of Midway Airport, and a short cab ride.


For curiosity sake, I'm wondering whether this connection could be made on surface transit.


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## RPC (Mar 28, 2018)

NorthShore said:


> AudenHoggart said:
> 
> 
> > If you're connecting from Midway to an Amtrak to Bloomington, there's another option if you're running late at Midway. Amtrak trains on the Chicago-St. Louis line stop at Summit about twenty minutes after leaving Chicago Union Station. Summit is just a few miles west of Midway Airport, and a short cab ride.
> ...


Possible, yes. Convenient, no. Bus 62H gets you within a few blocks of Summit, but it only runs during the day and infrequently then. Any other option involves multiple buses and transfers.


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