The residents believe UTA's analysis is wrong on almost every point. A TRAX line built on the old Union Pacific land would interrupt wildlife migration, destroy the Porter Rockwell trail built alongside the old tracks and cause some new homes to be condemned, according to Summer Pugh, a leader of the citizen group. Such a line would also be used less than a State Street line, they believe.

Pugh is also concerned that the Union Pacific route was not studied in conjunction with UTA plans for a commuter rail line, though both transit modes would travel north-south and would meet at Point of the Mountain.

Regardless of the outcome of the lawsuit, CRT and other concerned residents have another chance to make their voices heard. One of CRT's members sits on a community board that advises UTA, and a period for public comment on the TRAX line will open later this year. Plans for the TRAX line won't be finalized until 2009, said UTA spokesman Gerry Carpenter.

"We're going to drop everything in and compare it to set criteria," he said. "Every single thing will be looked at before we decide the final preferred alignment."

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E-mail: rpalmer@desnews.com