CHICAGO — The Chicago Transit Authority has returned to pre-pandemic levels of rail service, with a 20% increase in weekly train trips, the agency said on Monday, Nov. 4.
The change means more than 1,200 additional rail trips per week compared to the spring 2024 schedule, according to the CTA, and covers all eight rail lines. While the number of trips may equal pre-COVID levels, they will be distributed somewhat differently; the agency said current ridership retention is highest on Saturdays and Sundays, so the schedule reduces some rush-hour weekday schedules to allow more weekend operation, especially on Sundays.
“I am pleased to share that as promised, CTA has returned to pre-pandemic scheduled levels across all rail lines before the end of the year,” CTA President Dorval R. Carter Jr. said in a press release. “To our loyal riders, we thank you for your patience. Hundreds of dedicated personnel throughout our agency worked tirelessly over the last couple years to recruit, hire, and train the unprecedented number of employees needed to strengthen our workforce and get us where we are today.” The CTA committed to training up to 200 new rail operators this year, double the number in 2023; more than 150 have entered service, with the remaining in training and expected to qualify for operator status by the end of the year
Bus service is now at 98% of pre-pandemic levels, the CTA said, with a schedule change due in December to close the remaining gap to 2019 operations.
