FrontRunner

Infobox rail line
box_width = 300px
name = FrontRunner
color =

logo_width = 250px


image_width = 250px
caption = A FrontRunner train heading towards Davis County
type = Commuter rail
status = operating
locale = Wasatch Front
start = Central Station
end = Pleasant View
stations = 8
routes =
ridership = ~8,400 as of 2008-09-17cite news|url=http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=4284643|title=Comet cars added to FrontRunner|last=Park|first=Shara|date=2008-09-17|publisher=KSL.com|accessdate=2008-09-18]
5,830 to 9,037 (projected) cite news | first=Shane | last=Farver | coauthors= | title=FrontRunner announces rates | date=2007-03-01 | publisher= | url =http://www.standard.net/live.php/news/98874/ | work =Standard Examiner | pages = | accessdate = 2008-06-17 | language = ]
30,000 on opening free dayscite news | title=UTA's FrontRunner Service A Hit So Far, Crowds Show | date=2008-04-28 | publisher= | url =http://www.kutv.com/content/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=75cd5795-0d44-4d61-b9ec-49dd40c8e6b3 | work =KUTV | pages = | accessdate = 2008-04-30| language = ]
open = April 26, 2008cite press release |title= UTA Announces FrontRunner Grand Opening Date! |publisher=Utah Transit Authority |date=2008-03-26 |url=http://www.rideuta.com/mediaRoom/pressReleases.aspx?pressReleaseID=704 |format=ASP | accessdate=2008-07-18]
close =
owner =
operator = Utah Transit Authority
character =
stock =
linelength = convert|44|mi|kmcite press release |title=FrontRunner Fact Sheet |publisher=Utah Transit Authority |date=2008-04-01 |url=http://rideuta.com/files/FrontRunnerFacts0408.pdf |format=PDF | accessdate=2008-07-18]
tracklength =
notrack =
gauge = RailGauge|ussg|al=on
el =
speed = max: convert|79|mph|km/h|abbr=on
elevation =

infobox rdt|FrontRunner
map_state = collapsed

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

FrontRunner currently 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 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.

The route uses a portion of the right-of-way of the historic Utah Central Rail Road, built by Mormons in 1869 to connect the First Transcontinental Railroad with Salt Lake City and acquired by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1878. [Don Strack, [http://utahrails.net/ogden/ogden-utah-central.php Ogden Rails] (Union Pacific Historical Society), 2005, ISBN 1932704043] UTA-owned track parallels UP track until Ogden, where UP and UTA share track to Pleasant View. Interstate 15 is parallel to FrontRunner for most of the route.

Pleasant View

Improvements to a six mile (10 km) stretch of shared Union Pacific Railroad track to an eighth station located in Pleasant View north of Ogden were postponed due to Union Pacific resources being diverted to repair tracks damaged by a landslide near Oakridge, Oregoncite web|url=http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=3074508|title=FrontRunner forced to delay Pleasant View terminal for months|date=2008-04-13|publisher=KSL.com via AP|accessdate=2008-07-19] . Consequently, the full convert|44|mi|km|sing=on northern leg of FrontRunner was not completed until September 29, 2008cite news|url=http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=4391657|title=FrontRunner begins hauling commuters from Pleasant View|date=2008-09-29|work=via the AP|publisher=KSL-TV|accessdate=2008-09-29] ; bus service was substituted in the interim to shuttle commuters from the Pleasant View station to FrontRunner in Ogden.

Expansion

FrontRunner South

convert|44|mi|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. Utah Transit Authority will begin work on the line after a ground breaking ceremony on 2008-08-12, and expects to have the new section complete by 2012.cite web|url=http://rideuta.com/mediaRoom/pressReleases.aspx?pressReleaseID=815|title=UTA to Break Ground on FrontRunner South|date=2008-08-08|publisher=Utah Transit Authority|accessdate=2008-08-09] Funds were appropriated to accommodate this project in 2006 via a sales tax increase referendumcite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20070420/ai_n19038360|title=FrontRunner is outpacing plans for I-15|last=Choate-Nielsen|first=Amy|date=2007-04-20|work=FindArticles|publisher=Deseret Morning News|accessdate=2008-07-28] , 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.cite news|url=http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/273016/17/|title=Lehi looks into changes for railroad crossings|last=Allred|first=Cathy|date=2008-07-10|publisher=Daily Herald|accessdate=2008-07-28]

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 Paysoncite news|url=http://www.acppubs.com/article/CA6300435.html|title=Commuter Rail Comes To Utah|last=Rybka|first=Richard|date=2006-01-23|publisher=Rocky Mountain Construction|accessdate=2008-07-28] . FrontRunner will be integrated with UTA's bus and TRAX light rail system.

Equipment

FrontRunner utilizes 21 MPXpress (MP36PH-3S)cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1215/is_2_208/ai_n27163598|title=FrontRunner on the front burner: Utah's new commuter rail system is expected to be a leading transportation option for the Salt Lake City region|last=Petersen|first=Marty D.|date=2007-02|work=via FindArticles.com|publisher=Railway Age|accessdate=2008-07-19] 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 Iscite web|url=http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=3661051|title=FrontRunner getting '70s-era rail cars|last=Richards|first=Mary|date=2008-07-01|publisher=KSL.com|accessdate=2008-07-19] which entered service on September 17 2008. 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 trainscite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20040730/ai_n11467249|title=UTA gets 30 rail cars from Chicago - free|last=Fattah|first=Geoffrey|date=2004-06-30|work=FindArticles|publisher=Deseret Morning News|accessdate=2008-07-20] cite news|url=http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_9749907|title=UTA buys East Coast rail cars|last=Loomis |first=Brandon|publisher=The Salt Lake Tribune|accessdate=2008-07-20] .

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 riderscite web|url=http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=3623809|title=Bicycles crowd out riders on commuter rail cars|last=Callan|first=Tom|coauthors=AP|date=2008-06-26|publisher=KSL.com|accessdate=2008-07-19] . 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.

Wireless internet is available on all the FrontRunner cars, including the refurbished Comet trains free of chargecite web|url=http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=481&sid=2627913|title=Internet to be available on public transportation|date=2008-02-08|publisher=KSL.com|accessdate=2008-07-19] .

Station stops

Gallery

References

External links

* [http://www.rideuta.com Official UTA website]
* [http://thenexttrain.com/at/uta/ UTA FrontRunner Schedules (unofficial)]