Metra board chairman Norman Carlson said Orseno, despite 42 years of railroad industry experience, and who often works 60-plus hours a week, "is earning less than his counterparts on the east and west coasts," adding that his qualifications made him beyond peer. The president of New York's suburban Metro-North railway makes $338,692, according to Metra's research, and the head of California's Metrolink rail system makes $330,000 annually, the agency there confirmed.