Blue Line — Chicago 'L'
Forest Park ↔ O'Hare · 33 stations · runs 24 hours a day
Above: O'Hare station on the Blue Line · photo Steven Miller · CC BY 2.0
33
stations
82 min
end to end
6 min
at morning rush
24 h
service
About the Blue Line
The Blue Line is the airport line, and the other one that never closes. It runs from O’Hare — from a station directly under Terminal 2, not a shuttle ride away — through the Milwaukee Avenue corridor, into the Dearborn Street subway under the Loop, and out west to Forest Park.
At about 27 miles it is the longest line on the network. Entering at O’Hare costs $5.00 rather than the usual $2.50; travelling the other way, towards the airport, is the normal fare. An unlimited pass covers the O’Hare entry with nothing extra to pay.
The Blue Line has 33 stations and takes about 82 minutes end to end. 14 of its stations are step-free, and it meets another ‘L’ line at 1 of them.
Every Blue Line station, in order
Times are the cumulative journey from the first station, using the CTA timetable. A gold dot marks a station where you can change to another line.
How often Blue Line trains run
| When | Mon–Fri | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early morning 4:00–6:30 am | 15 min | 15 min | 15 min |
| Morning rush 6:30–9:30 am | 6 min | 6 min | 10 min |
| Midday 9:30 am–3:00 pm | 6 min | 6 min | 6 min |
| Afternoon rush 3:00–7:00 pm | 5 min | 6 min | 6 min |
| Evening 7:00–10:00 pm | 8 min | 6 min | 10 min |
| Late night 10:00 pm–4:00 am | 8 min | 8 min | 10 min |
Typical gap between trains in one direction, worked out from CTA's published timetable. Real gaps vary.
First and last Blue Line train
Where you can change lines
Questions about the Blue Line
33 stations, running Forest Park to O’Hare. End to end it takes about 82 minutes.
Yes. It runs 24 hours a day, every day of the year, with trains roughly every 8–10 minutes overnight. Only the Red and Blue lines do this.
$2.50, the same as every other ‘L’ line and the same however far you travel. Transfers to another line are free within two hours. The exception on this line is entering at O’Hare, which is $5.00.
At 1 stations, including Clark/Lake. At all of them the change is inside the station: walk across, no second tap and no extra fare.