METRA, the largest commuter rail agency serving the Chicago area, has awarded SkillNet and AST Corporation a contract to implement Oracle POS and E-Business solutions. METRA has been in the planning stages of revamping its backoffice and customer interfacing systems since early 2009. The passing of the May 2009 legislation mandating credit acceptance at METRA stations precipitated the decision to overhaul its POS and E-Business systems. The new systems will go live in August 2010. METRA customers can then make their ticket purchases via credit card as well as check.