Harvard train station will stop having Metra ticket agent, Union Pacific says

HARVARD – Tickets will stop being sold at the Harvard train station as of May 23, according to a Union Pacific spokeswoman.

Calli Hite said in a statement the decision was made earlier in March to stop having a ticket agent at the station. The Harvard station has the lowest ridership of Union Pacific stations with a ticket agent, with about 275 people boarding the train on a typical weekday, Hite said.

Hite said tickets can be bought using the mobile Ventra application, online via Metra's website, metrarail.com, or through the ticket-by-mail program. Tickets also can be bought in-person on the train with no surcharge, she said, and at Ogilvie Transportation Center or other stations.

"This decision was made as part of continuing efforts to provide quality passenger service while running an efficient operation," the statement read.

Union Pacific owns the Harvard station, 1 N. Ayer St., and leases it to the city, Hite said. She said the building will remain open despite there being no ticket agent.

The ticket agent works 5:35 a.m. to 1:35 p.m. Monday through Friday at the station, according to Metra's website.

The one ticket agent employed by the station will "work within a union-negotiated process to move to another role," Hite said in the statement.

Harvard City Administrator Dave Nelson said Tuesday morning he had not been notified of Union Pacific's plans to stop staffing the station.