How to: Use Train Tracker by text

CTA Train Tracker ^SM by Text allows you to get estimated arrivals from CTA Train Tracker on a wide range of phones and mobile devices.

We'll be improving the service based on your feedback and also evaluating places where we can post this information at stations, at a later date.

Using this service

Example

Here's how the text message you send might look if you wanted to see the next trains at Chicago on the Red Line. The stop code for that station is CHIR, so you'd text "ctatrain chir" to 41411.

Try it!

The first line in the example response above, "Rd>Hwrd Due" indicates that a Red Line train to Howard is due, and one to 95th/Dan Ryan is in two minutes. (Responses are abbreviated so you can get to the information you need in as few messages as possible.)

Note that abbreviated destinations in results do not necessarily coincide with stop codes. For what to send to us for arrivals, find your station's code here.

Response Abbreviations

Here's a quick list of abbreviations you'll see in response texts from this service:

Finding your stop code

You can find stop codes below or find texting instructions for your station in the following locations:

• On your station's page on this website. (Go to Schedules, then choose your route, then click/tap your station's name in the route diagram for full details.)
• On Train Tracker results when viewed on this website. (After pulling up arrival times in Train Tracker, you can expand the "Station information" section below a set of results in Train Tracker and detailed instructions will appear.) 
• On timetables posted in stations. (Texting instructions appear at the bottom right of station timetable posters in every 'L' station.)

Complete list of stop codes

The following codes have been assigned to each of CTA's stations to make it easier to remember what to text.

Other ways to find stop codes

If you need to look up a stop while on-the-go and don't have an Internet connection to check our website, you can also text "ctatrain [route]" to 41411 to get a list of stop codes via text message.

Additional Commands

Also, you can also reply to this message with "R" to get the latest, most updated result for the same stop.

If your stop has multiple routes serving it, your results may not fit in one text message. In that case, you can also reply with "N" to see the next result for the stop you requested.

If there are alerts, you'll see "A)lerts" at the end of texts you receive, and you can reply with "A" to retrieve them.

Note: If you have subscribed to receive text messages for service alerts or arrivals at scheduled times from the CTA Bus Tracker website, you can always reply with (or send a new text with) "STOP" to unsubscribe. (There are no subscriptions related to the CTA Train Tracker by Text service.) And remember: Message and data rates may apply. Check with your mobile carrier first.)

Tip: Narrow your results

To get just the routes you're interested (and potentially reduce the number of texts you need to send or receive to get the information you want), you can also specify a route color in your request—just add a space and the color after the stop code in your request.

For example, to get only Orange Line results at Clark/Lake (stop code: CLKL), send this request:

ctatrain clkl orange