Chicago Orange Line Guide
Everything the Orange Line serves — the direct route to Midway Airport — and the neighborhoods it connects.
Photo: Rama Laksono / Unsplash
- ✓The Orange Line is the direct route to Midway Airport — the only 'L' line that reaches it, the way the Blue Line is the only one reaching O'Hare.
- ✓It's one of the newer lines in the system, opened in 1993 to finally give the Southwest Side a direct rapid-transit connection downtown.
- ✓The ride between the Loop and Midway takes roughly 20-30 minutes depending on time of day — verify current run times, since they shift with track work and schedule changes.
- ✓Cross-links every neighborhood it serves — and every one of those neighborhoods links back, per this site's line-as-connective-tissue linking strategy.
- ✓Fares and hours are flagged verify-before-you-go rather than hard-coded, since CTA schedules and pricing shift — check transitchicago.com before you plan around either.
The Midway line
The Orange Line exists mainly to do one job well: connect downtown to Midway Airport, and it's the only 'L' line that does it. Opened in 1993, it's one of the newer additions to the system, built specifically to give the Southwest Side — long underserved by rapid transit — a direct rail link into the Loop. The Midway station sits right at the airport, a short covered walk from the terminal, which makes the Orange Line the same kind of straightforward airport option the Blue Line offers for O'Hare, just for the city's smaller, often faster-to-navigate airport.
The ride between Midway and the Loop takes roughly 20 to 30 minutes depending on time of day and how many stops the train makes, comfortably competitive with a taxi outside of the worst traffic and considerably cheaper. Unlike the Red and Blue Lines, the Orange Line has not historically run 24 hours — service stopped overnight and resumed in the early morning, so a very late or very early Midway flight needed a rideshare or taxi instead. That's changing: the CTA announced in late 2025 that the Orange Line would move to 24-hour service sometime in 2026, funded by a new state transit package. Confirm current run times, and whether that rollout has reached your travel dates, at transitchicago.com before you build a tight connection around it.
The Loop, and the Southwest Side
North of Midway, the Orange Line runs through the Southwest Side — past Chicago's own Bridgeport neighborhood — before joining the elevated Loop tracks downtown, sharing the same historic structure as the Brown, Green and Pink Lines. It's a fast, relatively direct ride with fewer stops than some of the older North Side lines, part of why it doubles so well as a dedicated airport connector rather than a stop-by-stop local line through the neighborhoods it passes.
For most visitors, the Orange Line's practical role begins and ends with exactly the job it was built for: a straightforward, no-transfer ride between the Loop and Midway that beats sitting in airport-adjacent taxi traffic, especially during peak travel periods. Load a Ventra card before you travel, or simply tap a contactless bank card at the reader — both work the same way at Midway's station as anywhere else in the system — so the only real decision left on a travel day is which platform to stand on and how much buffer time to leave before your flight.
- The only 'L' line that reaches Midway Airport, directly, no transfer required.
- Opened in 1993 — one of the newer lines, built for the Southwest Side.
- Not historically a 24-hour line, but the CTA has announced a move to round-the-clock service sometime in 2026 — verify current hours at transitchicago.com before an early or late flight.
The Loop, Chicago
Chicago's dense downtown core of skyscrapers, theaters, and the L tracks that give it its name. Best for first-time sightseeing, architecture, theater.
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South Loop, Chicago
Museum Campus's residential neighbor — a mix of converted lofts and new towers just south of the Loop. Best for Museum Campus proximity, Buddy Guy's, a quieter downtown base. Served by the Red, Green, Orange.
Read guide
Midway Airport (MDW) Guide
Chicago's smaller, closer-in airport — the direct Orange Line connection and when Midway beats O'Hare for a visit.
Read guideMore in The 'L' Train
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Chicago Blue Line Guide
Everything the Blue Line serves — the only line running direct to O'Hare, plus 24-hour service — and the neighborhoods it connects.
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Chicago Brown Line Guide
Everything the Brown Line serves — an elevated loop through the North Side, no 24-hour service — and the neighborhoods it connects.
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Chicago Green Line Guide
Everything the Green Line serves — the historic route reaching the West and South Sides — and the neighborhoods it connects.
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Chicago Pink Line Guide
Everything the Pink Line serves — the route through Pilsen and Little Village to the western suburbs — and the neighborhoods it connects.
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Chicago Purple Line Guide
Everything the Purple Line serves — a mostly-Evanston express with limited downtown Loop service — and the neighborhoods it connects.
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Chicago Red Line Guide
Everything the Red Line serves — 24-hour service, the system's busiest line — and the neighborhoods it connects.
Read guide