A beloved, cross-country holiday train tradition starts up for the 2025 season this week, complete with musical performances by cult favorite bands — and it’s stopping in the Chicago area. <\/p>\n
The Canadian Pacific Kansas City 2025 Holiday Train, in its 27th year, will run starting Nov. 19 through Dec. 21, according to a release. That means the free holiday event, which raises money and collects items for community food banks in need, makes its first trip Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery year, our railroaders take great pride in bringing the Holiday Train across our network, this year reaching even more communities for the first time,\u201d Keith Creel, CPKC President and CEO said in the release. \u201cWe are thrilled to send this beautiful train filled with lights and music to spread the joy of the season and proud to support the giving spirit of the holidays assisting people experiencing food insecurity. It’s incredible to see communities come together every year to celebrate the holidays while supporting local food banks.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The train this year will travel to 13 states, with 196 live musical performances, from bands including Barenaked Ladies, Smash Mouth, American Authors, JJ Wilde, Pynk Beard and more. It also will feature a new light display honoring the legacy of \u2018Rudy\u2019 and the recently retired Kansas City Southern Holiday Express train that operated across the U.S. South for nearly a quarter century, organizers said. <\/p>\n
The train starts its run in Quebec Thursday, with its first U.S. stop set for Hermon, Maine on Nov. 22. After that, it will travel to Illinois, Iowa, New York, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota. <\/p>\n