| UTA Transit Express (TRAX) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Info | |||
| Locale | Salt Lake City metropolitan area | ||
| Transit type | Light rail | ||
| Number of lines | 3 | ||
| Number of stations | 41 open 9 under construction |
||
| Daily ridership | 58,000 (estimated)[1] | ||
| Operation | |||
| Began operation | December 1999 | ||
| Operator(s) | Utah Transit Authority | ||
| Number of vehicles | 23 Siemens SD-100 LRVs 17 Siemens SD-160 LRVs[2] 29 UTDC (former Santa Clara VTA cars) 77 Avanto S70 [3] |
||
| Technical | |||
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Standard gauge | ||
| Electrification | Overhead lines | ||
|
|||
TRAX (full name Transit Express,[4] though rarely used) is a three-line light rail system in Utah's Salt Lake Valley, serving Salt Lake City and several of its suburbs throughout Salt Lake County. The system is operated by the Utah Transit Authority (UTA).
The first line, running from downtown Salt Lake City south to Sandy, was completed in 1999. The second line from downtown to the University of Utah was completed in 2001 and extended in 2003. An extension to the Salt Lake City Intermodal Hub was completed in April 2008. In August 2011, two extensions to South Jordan and West Valley City were completed.[5] Plans call for two additional TRAX extensions to Draper and the Salt Lake City International Airport to be finished by 2014.[6] The extensions to South Jordan, West Valley City, Draper and the airport were funded in part by a Salt Lake County sales tax increase that would pay for all four of the proposed TRAX lines.[7] A letter of intent signed with the Federal Transit Administration on September 24, 2007 secured the remaining funding for the light rail lines.[8]
Both the University Line and its extension to the University Medical Center were completed ahead of schedule. Additional expansions have been proposed for the near future, all four of which have been approved and funded. A daily ridership of 15,000 was expected for the initial 15-mile (24 km) line in 1999. Soon after, the expanded system of 17.5 miles (28.2 km) was claimed to serve an estimated 60,000 passengers each day.[9], though with an improved counting system, this was revised to 40,000.[10] The American Public Transportation Association estimated second quarter 2011 ridership at 43,500, making it the tenth-busiest light rail system in the country[11] The UTA predicts ridership will increase to 58,000 by the end of 2011, in part due to the completion of the West Valley and South Jordan extensions.[1]
Contents |
Light rail in the Salt Lake Valley was first seriously discussed in the late 1980s to provide an alternative to traffic congestion on I-15, but the idea was met with much criticism. On October 10, 1988, Congress approved $5 million in funds to preserve land along the proposed light rail corridor.[12] Funding for the light rail line itself, however, remained uncertain. After Salt Lake City won the bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics in 1995, UTA used the city's host status to accelerate obtaining funding through the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Construction began in 1997. Protesters at the groundbreaking insisted that light rail would be both dangerous and a waste of money. Public opinion remained divided and businesses on Main Street in downtown Salt Lake City suffered during the construction period.
After the north-south line opened in late 1999 with sixteen stations, ridership expectations were quickly met. The system was enthusiastically embraced by valley residents, to the surprise of many, and once-skeptical communities soon began clamoring for extensions.
Funding for the University Line to Rice-Eccles Stadium allowed it to be completed in 2001 with four new stations, ahead of schedule and the Olympics. An extension to the University Medical Center that added three new stations was completed on September 29, 2003, fifteen months ahead of schedule.[13] An infill station at 900 South in Salt Lake City was constructed in 2005, and a second infill station, at 9400 South in Sandy ("Sandy Expo"), opened in August 2006. On December 13, 2006, the UTA Board of Trustees voted to change the name of the Delta Center Station to "Arena" in response to the renaming of the nearby indoor arena to EnergySolutions Arena.[14]
On February 23, 2006, plans for extending the main line westward to the Salt Lake City Intermodal Hub near the Gateway District was approved. Two stations were built near the Gateway shopping district, as well as one at the Salt Lake Central Station (Intermodal Hub). They opened in April 2008,[15] bringing the total number of stations to 28.
On September 21, 2006, a property tax hike proposal was replaced with a general transportation quarter-cent sales tax hike that was voted on and approved on November 7 of that year. On December 21, 2006, the Salt Lake County Council created a priority list for the sales tax, saying that Trax and commuter rail should take priority.[16] A letter of intent signed with the Federal Transit Administration on September 24, 2007 secured the remaining $500 million in funding for the light rail lines.[8] This money will be used to finance the FrontLines 2015 expansion project, which will add four TRAX lines by 2015 (as well as an expansion to FrontRunner commuter rail).
In 2008, construction began on two new extensions: one through West Valley City (now part of the Green Line) and another through the southwest portion of the Salt Lake Valley (now part of the Red Line). Both extensions were debuted in ceremonial openings on August 2, 2011,[5] and permanently opened for regular service on August 7. Both extensions were completed ahead of schedule and under budget.[5] This expansion was when UTA adopted color-code line names in place of their old destination-based line names.
A line from Salt Lake City International Airport to the University of Utah was in the original plans for the system to be completed before the 2002 Winter Olympics, but funding shortages only allowed for the eastern portion to be constructed. The airport line did eventually come to fruition, however, and ground was broken on October 22, 2008.[17] It will contain 6 additional stations, including a transfer station to the FrontRunner commuter rail line. Completion of the six-mile (10 km) expansion is planned for 2012, but may take until 2013 to complete.[18]
In order to support planned TRAX expansion, UTA ordered 77 Siemens S70 light rail vehicles from Siemens AG. It is the company's largest-ever light rail contract.[3]
On November 14, 2006, the Draper City Council approved the Trax extension into that city.[19] Neighbors in the area have continually fought the route suggested by UTA. The route follows an old rail line and UTA already owned the right of way. An alternative route that would run down the middle of State Street was also studied by UTA.[20] Use of the UTA right of way for the line was challenged in court and was later approved by the Utah Supreme Court on July 12, 2008.[21] UTA has published a draft Environmental Impact Statement for the new line that names the UTA right of way as the preferred route. Construction on the line, which will include three new stations, has begun and is expected to be completed by 2012.
A TRAX spur into the Salt Lake City neighborhood of Sugar House has been contemplated. A series of community meetings held in Sugar House as part of a larger transit study undertaken by UTA presented several transit alternatives to the neighborhood, including bus rapid transit, light rail, and a streetcar.[22] The streetcar seemed to be the preferred alternative.[23] On October 20, 2010, the Sugar House street car line received a $26 million federal grant that would allow the street car to be completed in less than two years.[24] It will use an existing rail line running along 2200 South from the Central Pointe TRAX station to approximately 1100 East, near the primary Sugar House shopping district.
UTA has also ordered a Draft Environment Study Report for transit alternatives in southern Davis County, including more comprehensive bus service, streetcar lines, and a TRAX line.[25] Some residents opposed UTA's proposal to bring rail to southern Davis County.[26]
| Line | Opened (extensions) |
Stations | Length | Terminals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Line UTA Route 701 |
1999 (2008, 2012) |
21 2014: 24 |
18.0 miles (29.0 km) | Downtown – Sandy (Salt Lake Central – Sandy Civic Center) 2012: Downtown – Draper |
|
| Red Line UTA Route 703 |
2001 (2003, 2011) |
25 | University of Utah – Daybreak (University Medical Center – Daybreak Parkway) |
||
| Green Line UTA Route 704 |
2011 (2013) |
15 2013: 18 |
Downtown – West Valley City (Salt Lake Central – West Valley Central) 2013: Airport – West Valley City |
||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||