Got religion? Salt Lake City residents have been converted to believers in rail transit and what it can do to improve their quality of life

Railway Age, Sept, 2003 by Julian Wolinsky

The 1.5-mile Medical Center light rail extension in Salt Lake City opens on Sept. 29, becoming the latest increment of a 30-year plan to build a web of LRT and commuter rail lines throughout the region. The initial segment of what came to be marketed as TRAX, a 16-station, 15-mile LRT route from suburban Sandy north to downtown's Delta Center sports arena, was inaugurated in December 1999 and has been a tremendous success. High ridership and superior service standards have generated widespread popular and political support for extensions, following the pattern seen in other cities once thought to be poor candidates for rail transit. "From the beginning our problem was that we had too many riders and not enough cars," says Utah Transit Authority Rail Service General Manager Paul O'Brien. "Our short term solution was to just keep running the cars. We're putting double the national average in terms of mileage on them. That's why we started our five-year overhaul at three-and-a-half years."

Planning for light rail in Salt Lake City began in the mid-1980s, and in 1987, a 17-mile line roughly paralleling the current route was proposed with an estimated price tag of $200 million. In 1992, a comprehensive transportation package including light rail and highway improvements was placed on the ballot but was defeated by voters. However, Interstate 15, one of the region's busiest corridors, was facing massive traffic congestion during pavement reconstruction, prompting UTA to purchase a portion of the former Union Pacific main line between downtown and Sandy that had been downgraded to branch line status. Despite the defeat at the polls, officials started planning a 15-mile light rail starter line that would use federal finding and revenue from a 0.25% local sales tax. Construction began in 1997 after a $237 million Full Funding Grant Agreement was approved by the Federal Transit Administration.

UTA got lucky when it came to purchasing rolling stock. In 1995, the San Diego Trolley decided not to exercise an option for 23 SD100 LRVs from Siemens Transportation Systems. UTA was able to purchase all of them for just under $1.9 million each, a price that included more powerful motors and high capacity, heaters, upgrades that had been included in an order for Denver's RTD and had prompted a change in the model designation to SD160. UTA decided to forego a.c. traction to keep the cost down.

Once the $312 million north-south line opened, ridership quickly rose to a weekday average of 18,000, more than 4,000 above projections for the fifth year of operation. Freight service operates on the line only when passenger service is suspended. "Although UTA owns the line, there are 14 active freight customers. We contract with the Utah Railway to serve them during the hours when light rail is not operating, between midnight and 5 a.m.," says O'Brien.

Meanwhile, planning had already gotten tinder way for a 10.9-mile east-west route linking the city's international airport with downtown and the busy University of Utah campus. Preliminary engineering and environmental work was completed and UTA hoped to fast-track construction and have trains running in time for the 2002 Winter Olympics scheduled for February of that year. But it soon became apparent that federal funding for the $448 million project would not be available, so it was scaled back to a 2.5-mile, $118.5 million branch with four stations running froth a junction with the main line to Rice-Eccles Stadium on the University campus. Revenue service started in December 2001, just 16 months after work started under a design-build contract incorporating an accelerated schedule.

With ridership continually rising, 10 additional SD160s were purchased from Siemens. The last one arrived in Salt Lake City in December 2001, just in time for the Olympics. The primary difference between these and the first 23 cars was elimination of previously standard facing seat pairs and the substitution of plug doors for folding doors.

Early in 2001, development began for a 1.5-mile TRAX extension that would take the University branch from RiceEccles Stadium to the university's Medical Center complex. On May 20, 2001, the PTA issued an FFGA tot the three-station project. Washington contributed $53.6 million of the $89 million capital cost, and completion was forecast for December 2004. But a mild winter and fewer construction problems than anticipated combined with quick work by contractors allowed UTA to open the line more than a year ahead of schedule. Another seven SD160s were ordered; all should be on the property by the end of this year.

Today, average weekday ridership when the university is in session is about 34,000, and O'Brien anticipates adding another 3,000 with the Medical Center extension. In addition, there are ridership spikes during frequent special events such as concerts, basketball and football games, weekend Mormon church conferences, and around the holiday season. UTA has prepared more than a dozen different scenarios to handle crowds during special events, which O'Brien says occur about 70% of the time. "We see ourselves as a partner in the community," he says. "Our role is providing transportation, and where there's an event, we fulfill our role. We try to match our service to the demand." LRT tends to carry 10-15% of attendees at any event, although it's often higher during concerts at the Delta Center and during football games. The actual numbers range from 3,000 to 5,000 passengers.