Situated on the Blue Line between Rosemont and Harlem, the station is located in the median of the Kennedy Expressway at Cumberland Avenue in the O'Hare community area’s Schorsch Forest View neighborhood on Chicago's Northwest Side.

The Cumberland station was first proposed in 1972 as part of an extension of the Blue Line from Logan Square to O'Hare International Airport.

The three new stations brought 6,000 new riders to the northwest CTA line in the following month, and Cumberland became especially attractive to suburban commuters.

[5] Citicorp Plaza, an office building which houses the headquarters of telecommunications provider U.S. Cellular, is located to the south of Cumberland at 8410 W. Bryn Mawr.

[8] The extension of the CTA line in the median of the Kennedy Expressway from Jefferson Park to O'Hare Airport, which included the construction of the Cumberland station, was first proposed by Mayor Richard J. Daley in 1972 by the Chicago Public Works Commission.

[13][14] The section of the extension from Jefferson Park to River Road, including Cumberland, opened on February 27, 1983; the CTA ran free shuttle trains between the new stations at River Road, and Harlem, the day before their opening so riders could "get acquainted" with the new line.

[19][needs update] A pedestrian overpass connects the platform to entrances on the north and south sides of the expressway.

[23] Cumberland is part of the CTA's Blue Line, which runs from O'Hare Airport to downtown Chicago and Forest Park.

[23] These routes connect to the Golf Mill Shopping Center, the Howard 'L' station, and the communities of Park Ridge, Niles and Brookfield.

[33][34][35][36] Intercity bus routes operated by Greyhound[37] and by Burlington Trailways[38] also make stops at this station.