CTA unwraps Holiday Train, starts running Friday

CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) - The CTA is helping to ring in the season by bringing back their “Elves’ Workshop Train” as part of their famously festive holiday L and bus routes.

The six-car Elves’ train will be decked with thousands of lights and bows like the original Holiday Train, which it will follow along the Green Line on Saturday evening as it makes its debut, according to the CTA.

The Holiday Train begins regular service on Nov. 23, with the Elves’ Workshop Train trailing it on Saturdays. The trains will visit all eight rail lines by Dec. 21.

Rounding out the festooned fleet is the Holiday Bus, which makes its public debut in Saturday's Magnificent Mile Festival of Lights Parade. It will begin operating on 16 regular bus routes throughout the city on Nov. 27.

Santa Claus will take his usual spot on an open flat car at the helm of the Holiday Train, while his elves man the other vessels with a steady supply of candy canes for passengers, the CTA said.

CTA President Dorval Carter says the train and bus "have become a beloved Chicago tradition that thousands look forward to each winter season."

A candy cane will mark the holiday rides on the CTA’s bus and train trackers. The full schedule is online.