UP Metra trackage rights are back in the spotlight after Union Pacific asked the Surface Transportation Board to deny Metra’s request for the agency to set terms for the commuter railroad’s use of three UP-owned lines, as outlined in a Union Pacific Dec. 15 filing (PDF). UP says the request is intended to delay its appeal.

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A Union Pacific rail car is parked at a Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) train yard in Seattle, Washington, U.S., February 10, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo

In the same Dec. 15 filing, Union Pacific said the two sides have been making progress in negotiations. UP added that Metra sought STB involvement only days after telling UP in a letter that its goal remained to reach an agreement — or, at least, to spell out what issues are still open.

UP asks the STB to deny Metra’s request

Union Pacific argues that Metra’s Dec. 2 filing — which asks the STB to set compensation and operating conditions for continued use of the lines — is tied to the pending appeal of the board’s Sept. 3 trackage rights decision (as reported by Railway Supply). UP maintains that starting what it calls a complex proceeding on payment and conditions is “driven by a desire to justify abeyance” in that appeal.

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UP also asked the board not to allow what it described as Metra’s appellate approach to cut across ongoing efforts to resolve the remaining issues privately.

How UP Metra trackage rights could expand beyond three lines?

Union Pacific told regulators it believes Metra may seek to broaden the trackage rights ruling to cover additional real estate and/or facilities beyond the three lines involved. Referring to a prior filing, UP said it “assumes that Metra will seek to expand” access “to a potentially wide array” of other facilities.

UP said any effort to widen the scope of access would need to be dealt with separately before compensation and other terms could be finalized. As a suggested framework, UP proposed a 50-day process: Metra would identify any additional facilities for which it seeks access, UP would respond after 30 days, and Metra would submit a rebuttal 20 days after that.

Union Pacific also asked the STB to consider requiring mediation to help the parties reach an agreement.

What the Sept. 3 decision covers and where the appeal stands?

In its Dec. 2 request, Metra said that while negotiations had produced progress on issues connected to the Sept. 3 order, “it is clear at this point that the parties will not reach agreement on all remaining disputed issues in a way that would remove the need for Board involvement.”

The dispute stems from the STB’s Sept. 3 decision granting Metra trackage rights on three Union Pacific-owned lines used for Metra’s UP North, Northwest, and West services, as set out in the STB Sept. 3, 2025 decision (PDF). The board said it found a “compelling need” to grant those rights to ensure commuter service continues, noting that “UP has made it clear that it has no obligation to provide passenger rail service.”

Union Pacific is seeking to overturn that decision. In a lawsuit filed Sept. 29 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, UP argued that the STB erred by claiming jurisdiction over the dispute, by finding Metra’s request was in the public interest, and by granting trackage rights without setting the terms and conditions.

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