Transportation to and from Chicago O'Hare Airport or Midway Airport is available by limousine, car rental, or Airtran-O'Hare ComfortVan Service. There is no public transportation to Fermilab, and taxi service is costly. No transportation will be provided to and from Fermilab and your hotel. It is strongly encouraged that you rent a car or that you make arrangements with some other attendee who is renting a car.
You are encouraged to rent a car. All of the usual rental companies (Hertz, Avis, Budget, National, etc.) are located at the airports. For the best price, we recommend Ace Rent-a-Car at O'Hare airport, telephone 1-800-323-3221 or 708-297-3350. Request the Fermilab rate.
Recommended Driving Route from O'Hare to Fermilab: Take the airport exit marked ``To City''. Travel about 1.5 miles to Interstate 294 South (toward Indiana). Turn right and travel about 8.5 miles on I-294 to the East- West Tollway (I-88). Take I-88 West (direction Aurora) approximately 17 miles to the Farnsworth North Exit and turn right. Travel 2.9 miles to the Pine Street entrance to the Fermilab site. Bring coins for tolls. See map page.
Recommended Driving Route from Midway to Fermilab: Take Cicero Avenue North to the Stevenson Expressway South (I-55) to I-355 North (toward Northern Suburbs). Take I-355 to the East-West Tollway (I-88). Take I-88 West (direction Aurora) for approximately 10 miles to the Farnsworth North Exit and turn right. Travel 2.9 miles to the Pine Street entrance to the Fermilab site. Bring coins for tolls. See map page.
From O'Hare: Reservations are not required except for arrivals scheduled after 9:15 p.m. Arriving passengers must call 1-800-851-0200 upon arrival (after claiming luggage) for pickup. Passengers are then asked to proceed to one of their designated pickup areas. ComfortVans load on the Lower Level of O'Hare, at the roadway nearest the building.
To O'Hare: Reservations must be made at least four hours in advance. Please allow 45 minutes from the estimated pickup time to flight time when making reservations. Allow additional time during inclement weather and road construction. Airtran is not responsible for missed flights. Be at the scheduled pickup location at least five minutes prior to your scheduled departure. Be sure to notify Airtran of any changes or cancelations in your O'Hare reservations.
Reservations for limousine service should be made in advance when possible. We
suggest the West Suburban Limousine Service. They are familiar with Fermilab
and do not overcharge. Reservations for this service can be made by calling
West Suburban direct at the following numbers:
Whether or not you are attending either of these symposia you may be wanting to get to Chicago on Friday evening. There are many variations on how you might do this:
Rental Car Drop Off: If want to drop off a rental car it may be easiest to do so at O'Hare airport although you should check with the rental company if they have a drop-off location downtown which is open when you will arrive. To get downtown from the airport one can take a taxi [~$25], a van [e.g. Continental Airport Express (312) 454-7799 no reservation required, $14.75], or subway [$1.50, known as the "El" or the CTA]. The CTA Blue Line takes you directly from the airport to downtown. There is a station two blocks from the The Palmer House.
Drive: Exit the Pine Street entrance of Fermilab, turn left on Kirk Road (which becomes Farnsworth). Travel 2.9 miles South to I-88 East. Follow signs to Chicago which will lead you onto I-290 East which ends in downtown Chicago. Total distance about 40 miles, total time depends on the traffic and weather. Bring coins for tolls. See map page.
Commuter Train: There are commuter rail stations "close" to Fermilab. Two of these stations are West Chicago and Geneva which are on the Union Pacific West Line (Chicago to Geneva). You may be able to find a ride to one of these stations, otherwise, from Fermilab, a taxi to the station will cost about $10. The trains run at most once an hour until 10 PM and cost about $6 (see METRA web page for details.) The Chicago "Northwestern station" is about 1/3 of mile from The Palmer House and taxis are available at the station.
Limousine: You can make a reservation with any one of a number limousine services [e.g. West Suburban Limousine Service, from Fermiland call (630) 469-3800].