FrontRunner
Two FrontRunner trains at Ogden Union Station
Info
Type	Commuter rail
Status	operating
Locale	Wasatch Front
Terminals	Central Station Pleasant View
No. of stations	8 (9 with opening of UTA TRAX Airport line)
Daily ridership	~5,900 as of 2008-06-17[1] 5,830 to 9,037 (projected) [2] 30,000 on opening free days[3]
Operation
Opened	April 26, 2008[4]
Operator(s)	Utah Transit Authority
Technical
Line length	44 miles (71 km)[5]
Gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) standard gauge
Operating speed	max: 79 mph (127 km/h)[5]
Line map Brigham City Opening at a later date Pleasant View (Fall 08) 0:58 Ogden Union Station 0:50 Roy 0:42 Clearfield 0:35 Layton 0:25 Farmington 0:12 Woods Cross UP / UTA depot Salt Lake Int'l Airport N Temple St (later phase) Sandy/University TRAX 0:00 Salt Lake Central Station Opening 2013-2015 Provo Opening at a later date Payson

FrontRunner is a commuter rail line recently completed by the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) to serve the Wasatch Front area of Utah, United States.

Route description

FrontRunner North

It is in its initial phase, FrontRunner runs from Ogden in Weber County in the north, through Davis County, and into Salt Lake City in the south, a total length of 38 miles (61 km). Work started on this section of the line in 2005. Seven of the planned eight stations opened to riders on April 26, 2008.^[4]

The route uses rights-of-way from the historic Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad, with UTA owned track paralleling UP track until Ogden, where UP and UTA share track to Pleasant View. Interstate 15 is parallel to FrontRunner for most of the route.

Expansion

This article or section contains information about a proposed, planned, or expected public transportation infrastructure in the United States. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction and/or completion of the infrastructure approaches, and more information becomes available.

Pleasant View

Improvements to a six mile stretch of shared Union Pacific Railroad track to an eighth station located in Pleasant View north of Ogden have been postponed due to Union Pacific resources being diverted to repair tracks damaged by a landslide near Oakridge, Oregon^[6]. Consequently, the full 44 mile northern leg of FrontRunner is not expected to be completed until late 2008; however, bus service is available to shuttle commuters from the Pleasant View station to FrontRunner in Ogden^[5].

North Temple Street

Included with this initial phase of FrontRunner are plans for a ninth station to be located at North Temple Street in Salt Lake City. No work is expected on this station until construction of the proposed Airport Trax line begins^[7].

FrontRunner South

The second phase will extend the line from Salt Lake City to Provo and is expected to be completed by 2013. Funds were appropriated to accommodate this project in 2006 via a sales tax increase referendum, and the remaining funding was obtained through a letter of intent signed with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) on September 24, 2007.

Brigham City and Payson

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 Payson. FrontRunner will be integrated with UTA's bus and TRAX light rail system.

Equipment

FrontRunner utilizes 21 MPXpress (MP36PH-3S)^[8] 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^[9] for entry into service by the fall^[10]. Thirty ex-Metra gallery cars were given to UTA for free, but they were determined to be in too poor of condition to refurbish, so they are being scrapped and used for spare parts for the Comet trains^[11][10].

Two months into service, Utah Transit Authority has been receiving complaints regarding the number of bicycles on the trains. The current Bombardier cars are designed to hold two bicycles near the rear doors near the back of each train, but up to 15 bicycles per car are being reported by some riders^[12]. UTA is currently 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, currently on order at a cost of $2.2 million per car, and the remaining 10 refurbished Comets^[10].

Wireless internet is available on all the FrontRunner cars, including the refurbished Comet trains^[10] free of charge^[13].

Station stops

Town/City	Station[5]	Connections[5]	Notes
Salt Lake City	Central Station	UTA TRAX: Sandy/Salt Lake Line UTA TRAX: University Line UTA Bus routes: 205, 209, 220, 500, 550 Amtrak: California Zephyr
	North Temple Street	UTA TRAX: Airport line	Not scheduled to be open until completion of Airport TRAX line
Woods Cross	Woods Cross	UTA Bus routes: 460
Farmington	Farmington	UTA Bus routes: 455, 456, 471, 473, 667
Layton	Layton	UTA Bus routes: 470
Clearfield	Clearfield	UTA Bus routes: 470, 640
Roy	Roy	UTA Bus routes: 604
Ogden	Union Station	UTA Bus routes: 603, 612, 613, 630, 680
Pleasant View	Pleasant View	UTA Bus routes: 680	Opening Fall 2008[5]

Gallery

MPI MPXpress locomotive

Bombardier bi-level car

Heading to Davis County

References

External links

• Official UTA website

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FrontRunner