Chicago's Polar Express Train Ride Won't Return to Union Station in 2026
The Polar Express Train Ride will not operate at Chicago's Union Station in 2026, organizers announced, extending the holiday attraction's absence from the city to a third consecutive year.
The news came in an Instagram post from event organizers. "We regret to announce that THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride will not operate in Chicago at Union Station in 2026," the post read. "We understand this event is an important experience for families and hope to return in the future." Organizers did not release additional details explaining the decision.
The attraction, based on the 2004 animated film "The Polar Express," has drawn families to Union Station for a one-hour round trip meant to recreate the movie's train ride to the North Pole, complete with hot chocolate, storytelling and a visit from Santa Claus. For years it ranked among the city's most sought-after holiday tickets, often selling out entire seasons in advance.
The ride has been on and off since 2020. The event was canceled that year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it did not return in 2022 due to a shortage of railroad crews. Now, for a third time since the pandemic began, Chicago families will have to look elsewhere for the experience.
That elsewhere includes several stops within driving distance. The Polar Express will run at the Monticello Railway Museum near Champaign from Nov. 13 through Dec. 6. In Wisconsin, the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay will host the ride from Nov. 20 through Dec. 13. Indiana's French Lick Scenic Railway will run the attraction on select days between Nov. 6 and Dec. 23.
Each of those locations operates independently of the Chicago event, licensing the Polar Express name and format for their own regional train lines. Families who traveled to Union Station in past years will need to drive roughly two and a half hours to Monticello, about three hours to Green Bay, or close to four hours to French Lick if they want to keep the tradition alive this season.
Union Station's downtown setting made the Chicago version of the ride distinct from those alternatives. Riders could board in the middle of the city instead of at a rural or small-town depot, an option Chicago families won't have again this year.
Organizers gave no timetable for a possible return, saying only that they hope to bring the event back at some point. No announcement has been made about ticket refunds or presales, since the ride was never opened for booking in Chicago this year to begin with. Families planning holiday travel around the alternative locations in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana can find ticket details through each museum's own website, with the earliest departures beginning in the first week of November.
