CHICAGO — Metra has taken over operation of the three Union Pacific lines previously operated by the freight railroad under a Purchase of Service Agreement, the commuter operator has announced.
The changeover took place on Friday, May 16, according to a recent filing with the Surface Transportation Board. That it occurred without fanfare was intended, Metra said in a post on its website: “When Union Pacific announced several years back that it wanted to stop operating passenger trains on its North, Northwest and West lines, both UP and Metra pushed for a transition that would not be noticeable to riders.”
Operating personnel moved from UP to Metra this spring, following earlier transitions by mechanical and customer service employees. Some engineering employees are still making the transition. Metra spokesman Michael Gillis told News Wire that prior to Friday, 542 employees had made the transition; another 240 on the North and Northwest lines arrived on Friday, meaning Metra is now operating and maintaining the trains on all three lines.
UP had operated the service on the UP North, Northwest, and West lines since acquiring the Chicago & North Western in 1995, but had long sought to relieve itself of those commuter responsibilities. Those three lines ranked second, third, and fifth in ridership among Metra’s 11 routes in 2024, accounting for approximately 13.7 million trips, or approximately 39% of the carrier’s total. The UP Northwest, with 5.18 million riders, was second only to the BNSF’s 6.85 million last year; the UP North was next with 4.83 million.
Given the change in operations, Metra has said it intends to rename the three lines, possibly as part of a larger overhaul of its line identification system [see “Metra considers renaming …,” Trains News Wire, March 11, 2025].
The quiet operating handoff belied an oft-contentious and litigious changeover process that is still ongoing. Because the two sides have been unable to agree on financial terms for Metra operation on UP’s tracks, the commuter operator has asked the STB to award it terminal trackage rights ensuring it retains access to the UP routes beyond the current contract expiring on June 30. [See “Metra asks STB to require …,” News Wire, March 7, 2025.]
Metra’s 162-page STB filing on May 5 says the trackage rights are necessary because “UP will not allow Metra to operate on the UP Lines without an agreement, and Metra cannot agree to UP’s demand for economically unreasonable and monopolistic rates” for that usage. It says that the legislation establishing the board’s jurisdiction in the terminal rights case says “a local transportation authority’s request would virtually always satisfy the public interest standard” of the criteria.
Union Pacific’s reply to the Metra opening statement is due June 3.
— Updated at 12:11 p.m. with number of employees involved.
