One of the world's top trainmakers has opened shop in Utah with the goal of transforming old, rusty, graffiti-decorated train cars into vehicles that look and run like new.

Bombardier Transportation Group, along with the Utah Transit Authority, said Thursday that it has signed a contract for up to $25 million to refurbish 54 used light-rail and commuter-rail cars. The cars will be used on four new TRAX lines in Salt Lake County and on UTA's commuter-rail line from Pleasant View, in Weber County, to Provo.

Voters approved funding for those rail lines in November.

While Bombardier's contract will expire sometime in 2010, the company hopes to obtain more work from surrounding states and perhaps open a more permanent operation in Salt Lake City. The company has initial plans to hire and train at least 35 local engineers, mechanics and electricians to work on cars now being delivered to UTA's commuter-rail maintenance facility at 900 North and 500 West.

"This region, like many others in North America and around the world, has realized the long-term benefits that effective public transportation can bring," William Spurr, president of Bombardier Transportation Group, said Thursday. "We look forward to a long and mutually beneficial collaboration with the people in this state for years to come."

Bombardier Transportation is a division of aircraft and rail transportation manufacturer Bombardier Inc., which is based in Montreal, Canada. The transportation division has 29,100 employees worldwide and operates 42 production facilities, including three sites in the eastern United States.

West Coast transit agencies that now contract with Bombardier ship their cars to the East Coast to be refurbished. In 2005, UTA purchased 12 Bombardier BiLevel commuter-rail vehicles from the company that were made in Thunder Bay, Canada, and furnished in Plattsburg, N.Y.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said Thursday that UTA's deal with Bombardier was "hugely important."

"This not only ensures short-term mobility, but it also means that we're probably likely to generate more economic-development opportunities by having this facility here," Huntsman said. "Otherwise you have to send the rolling stock back East. Here, we can do it, and chances are, we're going to get more opportunities to do this kind of thing with states in the surrounding region."

John Inglish, general manager of UTA, echoed Huntsman's enthusiasm for the deal. "This is a great marriage," he said.

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E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com