UTA begins testing on new cars for TRAX expansion project

SANDY — Testing began Monday for 77 new light-rail cars that promise to make boarding quicker and more convenient as well as give TRAX riders a newer, smoother ride.

The Utah Transit Authority purchased the cars last summer at about $3.6 million a pop, half of which was paid by Federal Transit Administration funds and the other half by proceeds from increased sales tax. The Siemens S70 cars were designed and built in Sacramento with specific UTA needs in mind, including low-to-the-ground boarding portals, making access easier for riders with wheelchairs, strollers and bicycles.

Each car can hold up to 30 wheelchairs and can be operated with a button at arm's length and without a separate, raised platform or a driver's help. The new cars are relatively the same size as the older cars on the tracks, but the passenger carriage is situated underneath the utilities instead of on top of the air conditioning and propulsion units as in the older models.

The cars were purchased specifically for UTA's FrontLines 2015 rail expansion program, which includes extending TRAX service to the airport, Draper, Mid-Jordan and West Valley City. UTA plans to place the new cars in regular service on some trips later this spring and they will also be used on the Mid-Jordan and West Valley TRAX lines when they open in August.

— Wendy Leonard