Presbyterian College > Academic Web Server > Jon Bell > Transit > (Cities | Types) > Salt Lake City > FrontRunner

Salt Lake City, Utah:
FrontRunner Commuter Rail

Description

On 26 April 2008, the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) inaugurated its 38-mile (61-km) FrontRunner commuter rail line that runs from Salt Lake City northward to Ogden. Most of the route uses new track built alongside a Union Pacific Railroad line, and is mostly single track with two tracks at stations. The current rolling stock is completely new, with a fleet of bi-level coaches by Bombardier (the same type as used on South Florida's Tri-Rail, Los Angeles Metrolink, and Toronto's GO Transit) and MPXpress diesel-electric locomotives by MotivePower Inc.

Trains run every half hour during the day on weekdays, and every hour on weekday evenings and Saturdays. The Salt Lake Central station in Salt Lake City is part of an intermodal hub that is also served by TRAX light rail trains, local (UTA) buses, and long-distance (Greyhound) buses.

Sometime in late 2008 a one-station extension from Ogden to Pleasant View is to open. Planning has begun for a similar line from Salt Lake City southward to Provo and eventually Brigham City.

Other Sites

Pictures

These pictures were taken on 3 June 2008, when I used FrontRunner to make a day-trip to Salt Lake City from Ogden.

[picture] The locomotive end of a train at Ogden. Locomotives are at the north end of trains, pushing them from Ogden to Salt Lake City, and pulling them in the reverse direction.

[picture] The cab-car end of the train shown above.

[picture] Looking out an upper-level window of our southbound train, we watch a northbound train arriving on the opposite platform at Layton.

[picture] North of Salt Lake City are some secondhand gallery-type cars from Chicago's Metra, which are to be refurbished for future expansions of service.

[picture] There are also some secondhand single-level cars from New Jersey Transit.

[picture] The train has now arrived at Salt Lake Central, where the locomotive becomes the front end of the train.

[picture] Looking across the plaza at Salt Lake Central towards the train we just arrived on.

[front] | [back] Round-trip ticket ($10.00) between Ogden and Salt Lake City.

This page was last updated on 20 June 2008, and links checked on 27 April 2009.

Presbyterian College > Academic Web Server > Jon Bell > Transit > (Cities | Types) > Salt Lake City > FrontRunner

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