Reader comments
UTA breaking ground today for airport TRAX line

Tab L. Uno | 12:30 a.m. Oct. 22, 2008

Relief. Anybody remember when the proposal to have an I-15 off and on ramp on North Temple was being pushed. Luckily with some held back in the early 90s, that idea was killed and ramps on 600 North and 400 South were constructed instead. Whew!!!

Rails | 5:53 a.m. Oct. 22, 2008

What a redicioulous expence
San Fran has already tore all this stuff out
Utah staying behind the times
End Of the line

poptops04 | 6:41 a.m. Oct. 22, 2008

the airport authority has a considerable investment in parking lots and dependency on the revenue of parking lots and structures. the question is, can the city meet the financial obligations of the eternal airport expansion projects when the passengers and employees start climbing on TRAX everyday of the week?

Comments continue below

yea!! | 7:04 a.m. Oct. 22, 2008

Yea Airport!! At last!

Now if we could just please get UTA bus service to Cache Valley. (hint hint hint)

Incredible | 7:54 a.m. Oct. 22, 2008

Anyone who thinks this is a bad idea probably fought the original trax line. There were many of you who were absolutely sure trax was a waste of money and would fail. Wrong! This will be very successful just like all the trax lines have been. About the comment that San Fran tore theirs out is very misleading. They have BART and do not need their light rail. ALL major airports have some kind of public transportation via rail lines. We are behind the times because we do not have this, not the other way around.

Rails? | 7:57 a.m. Oct. 22, 2008

Rails,

What are you talking about? San Francisco is not ripping out their mass transit system. They are pulling out freeways that cut through the city, which has resulted in huge private investment into the City and made their transit system much more functional. They have issues with operation costs, which is a completely different issue.

bearness | 8:00 a.m. Oct. 22, 2008

Financing hangups? It was Rep. Hansen that killed the project. He said he would only allow Federal financing if the Airport spur was eliminated from the East-West line.

One day at a time | 8:45 a.m. Oct. 22, 2008

I have used the Bart in SF to get to downtown and it is really great. SF is not tearing it out--far from it they are expanding. I look forward to the day when I can catch Trax at 7200 S and ride to the airport.

Michael | 8:52 a.m. Oct. 22, 2008

Congratulations. This is a definite step into the Twenty-first Century. Good transportation has been one of the drivers of robust economies around the world and throughout history. In our times, air transport and their airports are part of that. And good transport to and from the airport certainly helps that along. This line will be used not only by passengers but by the many people who are employed at the airport. Today's modern airport is no longer just a place to get on and off aircraft, but it is now an important center of economic activity in itself. And the new TRAX line will be part of maintaining and enhancing that economic activity.

THANK YOU! | 9:23 a.m. Oct. 22, 2008

I want to thank UDOT and our local leaders for great forward thinking on the transportation system of the future!

Indeed, I have already benefitted a great deal from Front Runner and the new Legacy Parkway.

A rail line to the airport is a FANTASTIC idea! I love using the rail line in cities around the world that make travel more convenient. Plus, as Utah continues to grow, we need good mass transit options.

Again, thank you from a Farmington resident that loves the progress!

uta rider | 9:25 a.m. Oct. 22, 2008

I think uta is wonderfull !!!

I look forward to when I can go to the airport frome orem on the train !!!!

why dosen't uta pay for ther trasit sistem by
retin out there stations in salt lake and orem like in ogden were there is a sub way and they get money back frome ther salls !!!

Rob Midgley | 10:26 a.m. Oct. 22, 2008

Wahoo! I have been eagerly awaiting this expansion for years. As one who has used the trains to get access to Airports in Portland, San Francisco, and currently extensive use in Chicago, this will make thousands of employees lifes much easier. In Chicago it eliminates most employees need for a car at all. Once the spur makes it out to the Airport, you can plan on seeing me make the FrontRunner/TRAX connection nearly every time I need to go to work. It will save me tons in upkeep and maintenance on my vehicles/parking and be nearly equal in time from my current commute in Ogden. Now we just need them to complete it sooner, rather than later so I can free up much needed funds. Thanks UTA!

Mike Johnson Fallon NV | 12:07 p.m. Oct. 22, 2008

The needs of a city that has 3/4 of million people crammed into 46 square miles like San Francisco are different from those in Salt Lake county or the Wasatch Front. San Francisco may be removing light rail from it Muni services, but as mentioned, BART provides service over a much larger area. By way of comparison, the existing Salt Lake to Sandy TRAX line is about 20 miles long about the same as the distance from San Francisco to San Leandro on BART. BART, of course goes much further. BART in some ways is more analogous to Front Runner (Salt to Ogden now and Salt Lake to Provo, proposed) as major lines go out give or take 40 miles from the central hub. But, TRAX covers a much bigger area than Muni and is in between Muni and BART in terms of size of area supported.

Craig | 12:59 p.m. Oct. 22, 2008

The article and graphic disagree. The graphic shows the end of the line going way out to the west of side of the airport - in the parking lot. The article says the line will end closer to terminal 1. I believe the article is correct and that the graphic used was from the original plans. At least that's what I've surmised from looking at the UTA website.

Jordan T,. | 4:57 p.m. Oct. 22, 2008

This is ridiculous. Instead of putting in lightrail line, why doesn't UTA build a new Front Runner extension to the airport? It would be cabable of handling more passengers akin to the BART train in San Francisco.

Jim S. | 3:22 a.m. Oct. 23, 2008

OK, as a current resident of San Francisco, and a former resident of the greater Salt Lake area, I'll straighten out some facts.

San Francisco has *NOT* ripped out rails since *1956*. Those years saw the removal of street car systems all over the country, however local opposition to the automobile stopped the removal of 5 Muni light rail lines and the commmuter rail line that is now Caltrain, and also blocked the construction of freeways past the south and southeast corners of the city.

Since then, rails have only been *added*. The BART and Muni subways were added in the 1970s, the F-Market/Wharves line was added in the 1980s, and the T-Third light rail line down the entire eastern side of the city went into operation only a few years ago!

Regarding Frontrunner to the airport -- bad idea. BART to SFO works well because it is an all-electric EMU metro and can handle high frequencies. Frontrunner is FRA-compliant diesel commuter rail that cannot handle higher frequencies (high speed but low acceleration means longer headways). If and when Frontrunner switches to EMU (or maybe even DMU) and uses mid-weight non-FRA-compliant metro-type rolling stock, it would make more sense.

JCH | 8:49 a.m. Oct. 23, 2008

Thank UTA, not UDOT.

JCH | 8:53 a.m. Oct. 23, 2008

Correct that: thank yourselves. Utahns are the ones who make these projects happen (or not). Little steps like this are how we demonstrate that we have the collective will to overcome the challenges of the coming years.

Energy scarcity, financial immobility, redefined relationships between the people and their agriculture ... these are issues that Salt Lakers can and will deal with in the next decade. It doesn't have to be frightening. In fact, we may come out of it with a better way of organizing our lives.

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Laura Seitz, Deseret News

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker speaks during a press conference announcing the Airport TRAX light rail line at the Utah State Fairpark in Salt Lake City Wednesday.

Gallery (2 photos)