FrontRunner

FrontRunner (reporting mark UTAX) is a commuter rail system operated by the Utah Transit Authority (UTA), serving the northern portion of the Wasatch Front from Salt Lake Central Station to Ogden Union Station. The system opened 26 April 2008. A future expansion will provide access south from Salt Lake City to Provo, via many Salt Lake and Provo suburbs, extending the line to a total of 88 miles (142 km).

Route

FrontRunner runs from Pleasant View in Weber County in the north, through Davis County, and into Salt Lake City in the south, a total length of 44 miles (71 km). Work started on this section of the line in 2005. Seven of the planned eight stations opened to riders on April 26, 2008.^[2]

The route uses a portion of the right-of-way of the historic Utah Central Railroad, built by Mormons in 1869 to connect the First Transcontinental Railroad with Salt Lake City and acquired by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1878.^[16] UTA-owned track parallels UP track until Ogden, where UP and UTA share the final 6 mi (9.7 km) of track to Pleasant View.

There are about 35 round trips on weekdays between Salt Lake City and Ogden. Most of the FrontRunner line is single-tracked (though it runs parallel to UP tracks), with double track at stations and several other points along the line to allow trains to pass each other. Interstate 15 is parallel to FrontRunner for most of the route.

Pleasant View

The station in Pleasant View was supposed to open along with the rest of the line in April 2008, but improvements to the shared stretch of track owned by Union Pacific were delayed when railroad workers were diverted to repair tracks damaged by a landslide near Oakridge, Oregon.^[17] Bus service was used between Odgen and Pleasant View until September 29, 2008, when the track improvements were comlete.^[3][18]

Union Pacific limited FrontRunner to one southbound train in the morning and one northbound in the evening after the Pleasant View station opened to rail traffic. Riders were required to transfer from one train to another in Ogden. In January, 2009 this was increased to three trains for each morning and evening, with one running straight through in each direction, though the other two still require transfers between trains.^[19]

Service to Pleasant View ended 6 September 2011. FrontRunner trains were able to run only four times daily to Pleasant View due to the sharing of track with Union Pacific; low ridership exacerbated the problem. The UTA plans to reopen the station in the future.^[20]

Southern extension

44 miles (71 km) will be added to FrontRunner with the opening of the southern extension, which will expand the current southern terminus from the Salt Lake City Intermodal Hub to Provo. Eight new stations will be constructed in Murray, South Jordan, Draper/Bluffdale, Lehi, American Fork, Vineyard, Orem, and Provo.^[21] The Utah Transit Authority began work on the line after a ground breaking ceremony on August 12, 2008, and expects to have the new section complete by 2012.^[22] Funds were appropriated to accommodate this project in 2006 via a sales tax increase referendum,^[23] and the remaining funding was obtained through a letter of intent signed with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) on September 24, 2007.

The city of Lehi is investigating options to build overpasses or underpasses to separate the rail traffic from the downtown vehicle traffic, though the status of this is uncertain as the cost of the project is in the tens of millions of dollars.^[24]

Brigham City to Nephi

Future extensions are envisioned that would eventually encompass over 80 miles (130 km) of the Wasatch Front, providing service as far north as Brigham City and as far south as Nephi.^[25] As with existing FrontRunner stations, all future extensions of FrontRunner lines will be integrated with UTA's bus and TRAX light rail system.

Equipment

FrontRunner runs 11 MPXpress (MP36PH-3C)^[26] locomotives from Motive Power International of Boise, Idaho, 22 new bi-level Bombardier cars, and has recently repainted 25 refurbished ex-New Jersey Transit Comet Is^[27] which entered service on September 17, 2008.^[28] Thirty ex-Metra gallery cars were given to UTA free of charge, but they were determined to be in too poor condition to refurbish, and are being scrapped and used for spare parts for the Comet trains.^[29][30]

Two months into service Utah Transit Authority has been receiving complaints about the number of bicycles on the trains. The Bombardier cars are designed to hold two bicycles near the rear doors of each train, but up to 15 bicycles per car are being reported by some riders.^[31] UTA is investigating options to increase capacity for bicycles, including more lockers at the stations.

FrontRunner North is served by 20 Bombardier bi-level cars, and will soon be joined by 15 Comet Is, while FrontRunner South will start with eighteen Bombardier bi-level cars on order at a cost of $2.2 million each, and the remaining 10 refurbished Comets.^[30]

Wireless internet, provided by Nomad Digital,^[32] is available on all the FrontRunner cars, including the refurbished Comet trains^[30] free of charge.^[33]

Stations

References

External links

• Official UTA website
• UTA FrontRunner Schedules (unofficial)