Salt Lake Transit News Thread

[Hatman]

Originally Posted by Paniolo Man

They believe Increased frequency will offset the need to return to 4 car trains.

In theory I think they are right, but there is the problem of timing. Frequencies won't be able to be increased until 2029, or 6 years, at the earliest. I think they are going to need more capacity before then.
I suppose they could add a 4th bombardier bilevel car to all trains already, and just fit it with conventional stairs to use the low-block platform the comet cars used.
And it probably isn't wise to configure the platforms if there isn't a decision made on future rolling stock. *cough cough Stadler*

[msbutah]

Interesting tidbit from the Downtown Daybreak groundbreaking. The site plan shows the Trax line turning before the U Hospital and turning west/south.

[Hatman]

Originally Posted by msbutah

Interesting tidbit from the Downtown Daybreak groundbreaking. The site plan shows the Trax line turning before the U Hospital and turning west/south.

That's a better route than turning onto Daybreak Parkway. Hopefully they can reserve space through the parking lots to avoid shared lanes on Duckhorn Drive.
Nice find!

[Hatman]

• Video Link

[Old&New]

Amazing! Let’s get it built!

[i-215]

This is the circulation element that Lehi's city council just approved:



Sigh.

Rather than proactively working with UDOT back in 2008 to save enough land along Pioneer...

Rather than adding a freeway to their circulation element south of Pioneer and saving land...

Rather than admitting they'll now have to demolish homes to build a freeway on Pioneer or south of it...

They voted to push away a future freeway into the boundary of the city of Saratoga Springs. And where it does go into Lehi, it becomes a magical floating bridge that sits atop of the lake.

Grrrrrrrrrrrr..... freakin' morons.

[Paniolo Man]

Utah county would try to build a freeway through Delicate Arch if it was within their jurisdiction.

[Paniolo Man]

Intercity Passenger Rail Luncheon

Come to learn more about intercity passenger rail and the Corridor ID program!
By Utah Transit Authority

The Corridor Identification and Development (Corridor ID) Program is a planning and development initiative for intercity passenger rail. It is managed by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and was authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Officials from Idaho, Utah, and Nevada have collaborated to submit two proposals under this program. The Pioneer Corridor (Boise to SLC) aims to restore an important section of Amtrak’s former Pioneer Line, connecting two of the fastest-growing cities in the two fastest-growing states. The proposed Desert Wind (SLC to Las Vegas) service restoration would run parallel to the I-15 corridor, linking rapidly growing regions in Utah and Nevada. Funding announcements are expected later this year.

I won't by around Friday to attend this, I hope there's a good turnout. If anybody here makes it you better let us know how it goes.

[Old&New]

What beautiful lakeshore property that will be on the north shore...

[Paniolo Man]

I was in Sacramento last week and took Amtrak back.

I noticed that the Sacramento Valley Station had equipment built into the platform to refuel locomotives. It sure seems to be more space efficient than using a truck like Amtrak does here in SLC. I wonder if a solution like this could be used in Provo, Helper, or Murray to refuel the California Zephyr should the Rio Grande Plan be realized.

[Paniolo Man]

The underwhelming S-Line extension is still on:







They do not currently have funding for an additional vehicle, which will be needed for this project. It is likely that they will reassign an S70 from TRAX to maintain uniformity on the line. I wouldn't mind if UTA ultimately purchased Stadler streetcars for use on the S-Line and brought the 3 S70s to TRAX service.

[Atlas]

Glad it's happening but I wish it was more. Extensions north and south on Highland, to Westminster and Millcreek respectively, would be fantastic.

[bob rulz]

So is there going to be a station at Highland Drive in addition to the Sugarmont Station? Seems pretty useless to have 2 stations so close together. At least the end of the line will be in a more visible location, but I don't think it's really more useful.

I wish they would take the extension at least to Monument Plaza more seriously, but I have my doubts that any further extension will happen at this point.

[kickback256]

While I don’t *love* that the line will end at Highland, I’ll take a victory where I can get it - visibility of the streetcar will skyrocket, particularly with the shopping complex across the street. Not my dream scenario, but access, frequency, and use cases will improve.

[Paniolo Man]

The Intermodal Hub Building closed last month. Greyhound has been picking up on the curb out front. Now there are truly no amenities at SL Central, in the past you'd able to use the restrooms in the Intermodal Hub with a train ticket.

I'm unsure when it will be demolished.

[bob rulz]

Wait, since when was that planning on being demolished?

[msbutah]

What a waste of resources.

[Orlando]

I do know that there are currently new designs for the Intermodal Hub with a UTA headquarters.

[kickback256]

Yeah, the current headquarters on 200 W. apparently has some serious structural issues. Not my favorite to see the old hub go at all - but given that SL Central is essentially a hub with nothing else BUT transit in the middle of relative nowhere, I’m holding out hope that the new HQ on that site is truly mixed use as they’ve proposed, and that they bury the FR and UP tracks. Wish it was the Rio Grande plan, but…

[Atlas]

Glad they can get their new headquarters built. It will make a fine bus depot in the future when the tracks are moved to 500 W.