CTA, Metra to add service for Taste of Chicago and other big events this week

(CHICAGO) The CTA and Metra are adding extra bus and train service beginning Wednesday for several events, including Taste of Chicago, the Crosstown Cup and the Gold Cup soccer matches at Soldier Field.

Beginning Wednesday, both CTA and Metra will add service to accommodate visitors to the Taste of Chicago in Grant Park.

Extra trains will operate on Metra’s BNSF line from Wednesday through Sunday, according to a statement from the transit agency. On Saturday and Sunday, extra trains will also run on the Milwaukee North and Milwaukee West lines.

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Several trains across the system will also be making extra stops to accommodate riders to Chicago. For information, check www.metrarail.com.

The CTA will run longer trains on the Red, Blue, Brown, Orange, Green and Yellow lines from Wednesday through Sunday.

In addition, No. 3 King Drive, No. 4 Cottage Grove, No. 6 Jackson Park Express, No. J14 Jeffrey Jump, No. 29 State, No. 146 Inner Drive/Michigan Express and No. 151 Sheridan buses will all provide extra service.

For the Cubs vs. White Sox series at Wrigley Field, CTA will provide extra service on the No. 80 Irving Park and No. 152 Addison buses between Friday and Sunday. On Friday only, northbound Red Line trains will run with increased frequency between 5-6 p.m.

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Gold Cup soccer games will be played at Soldier Field on Thursday. The CTA will provide extra service on the No. 130 Museum Campus and No. 146 Inner Drive/Michigan Express buses from about 4:30 p.m. until one hour after the final game ends.

In addition, six CTA bus routes will be detoured due to closures downtown for Taste of Chicago, including the No. 2 Hyde Park Express, the No. 10 Museum of Science and Industry, the No. 6 Jackson Park Express, the No. 14 Jeffrey Jump, the No. 26 South Shore Express and the No. 28 Stony Island.

The CTA advises riders to load their Ventra cards ahead of the events to avoid long lines at vending machines, and allow extra travel time through the weekend.