A commuter-rail train with the red, white and blue design of the Utah Transit Authority began running Wednesday along a section of rail from Centerville to Kaysville.

But you can't hop on board quite yet. For the next few months, UTA will be testing how well the FrontRunner train cars operate and whether signals and switches along the tracks are working right.

The tests will be done on different segments of a 35-mile section of rail from Salt Lake City to Ogden. Workers are still laying rail in parts of Salt Lake and Weber counties, but when the work is finished, UTA plans to test trains along its entire 44-mile-long commuter-rail line from Salt Lake to Pleasant View, in Weber County.

Steve Meyer, UTA manager of commuter-rail construction, said Wednesday that he was pleased with the progress of commuter rail, which is scheduled to begin service early next year.

"This is a major step," Meyer said about the test trains. "We're making good progress."

During Wednesday's tests, about 15 workers were situated inside and outside the trains. In the front locomotive and the back cab, employees were looking at computers to see if the commuter-rail cars were operating to engineering design specifications. UTA also checked factors such as braking and how well the vehicles accelerated.

Outside the train, workers were observing the train and keeping people at a safe distance from the tracks.

"You want to ensure reliability," Meyer said. "You want to make sure it's safe."

UTA plans to open its Salt Lake City to Weber County section of commuter rail early next spring. Within the next few weeks, the agency plans to release an environmental study of extending commuter rail south, from Salt Lake City to Provo. Work on that southern segment is set for completion sometime in 2012, according to preliminary reports from UTA.

Residents wishing to watch the test trains in Davis County can view the cars from Park Lane in Farmington and Porter Lane in Centerville. Along Park Lane, residents can turn into a segment of road that has been closed to help build the Legacy Parkway on the southwest portion of the bridge, according to UTA.

For more information, log on to www.rideuta.com or call: 1-877-UTA-RAIL.

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E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com