By Railfan & Railroad Staff

Chicago area commuter operator Metra has joined the chorus of opposition against the U.S. Surface Transportation Board and its approval of the Canadian Pacific – Kansas City Southern merger earlier this spring. This month, Metra filed a lawsuit against the STB in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. 

While the case has been opened it appeared no paperwork associated with it was available at the time of this writing. A notice of the suit was filed with the STB last week. 

Before the STB approved the deal in March — leading to the creation of Canadian Pacific Kansas City on April 14 — Metra raised concerns about how increased train traffic as a result of the merger would impact its own operations. Union Pacific has also filed a suit, asking the court to review the decision, alleging that it has harmed competition. 

While competing railroads or passenger operations objecting to a merger isn’t new, doing so after the merger has already been completed is unusual.