A Cook County, Ill., jury has ordered Union Pacific to pay Metra $19.3 million after the freight railroad, which has previously operated commuter trains under contract, refused to have conductors walk trains and collect fares during the early part of the Covid-19 pandemic. The verdict was announced on November 12, according to the Daily Herald. The legal battle is just one of the ongoing conflicts between the Chicagoland commuter operator and the Class I. 

Beginning in March 2020, as pandemic restrictions started to take effect, Metra and its freight contractors, UP and BNSF Railway, stopped having conductors collect fares to minimize face-to-face contact. A few months later, as restrictions eased and more was understood about the virus, Metra and BNSF resumed having conductors walk through the trains. However, UP waited until May 2021 to have conductors walk the trains and collect fares again. Metra reported that during this period, passengers complained about the difficulty of finding a conductor when issues came up onboard. They also mentioned that UP conductors shut off some cars, making it harder to socially distance from other passengers. Union Pacific plans to appeal the decision. 

Meanwhile, UP and Metra are still negotiating over how much the commuter agency will pay to use UP tracks. In spring 2025, after years of debate about UP no longer wanting to provide passenger service, Metra took over all services on the former Chicago & North Western lines. As part of that, hundreds of UP employees moved to Metra. But the payment issue remains unresolved. As this story went to press, both sides were still seeking a solution.

—Justin Franz