By Railfan & Railroad Staff
CHICAGO — Metra said it is losing $1 million a month in lost ticket revenue because Union Pacific is refusing to collect fares on the three lines it operates over fears that employees could get COVID-19, the Chicago Tribune reports. The spat over fares is the latest in an ongoing conflict between the commuter agency and the freight railroad, which operates three of Metra’s lines out of Chicago.
In March, soon after the pandemic began, Metra stopped having conductors validating or selling tickets on trains to reduce their risk of getting the virus. In June, most lines started having conductors collecting tickets again, but UP has decided not to. “Because UP conductors are neither selling tickets nor validating fares, most riders on their trains have been riding for free, which is hurting the system financially and is not fair to riders on the other lines who are being asked to show their fares,” Metra spokesman Michael Gillis told the newspaper.
UP sees it differently. “The safety of Chicago commuters and employees is paramount to Union Pacific,” said UP spokeswoman Raquel Espinoza. “We are following CDC guidelines as we decide when it is safe to place employees back in public-facing positions, the same guidance helping businesses nationwide.”
Metra said the loss of $1 million a month is having a major impact on its already shrinking budget.
Espinoza said that the decision to not collect fares has nothing to do with UP’s ongoing spat with Metra over the future of the three lines it operates. UP currently operates commuter trains for Metra on three lines, the North Line to Kenosha, Wis., the West Line to Elburn, Ill., and the Northwest Line to McHenry and Harvard, Ill. The freight railroad absorbed the operations when it took over the Chicago & North Western back in 1995 and is paid approximately $100 million annually to do so. Last year, UP sued Metra because it wanted to get out of operating those lines. Metra states that UP has a common carrier obligation to operate the trains. The commuter railroad has said in court documents that UP is trying to “gain leverage” in negotiations and that if the freight railroad had a legitimate issue it would go to the STB. The UP has stated it is losing money on the operation and but that it would continue to allow Metra to use its tracks. Earlier this summer, the STB declined to get involved in the matter and said it would leave it up to the courts.
