Utah plans ahead

ON JANUARY 17, the Utah Transit Authority board ratified a $185m deal with Union Pacific which paves the way for commuter rail services from Salt Lake City to Ogden, Brigham City, and eventually Payson. UTA is buying 281route-km from UP, including the main line between Payson and Brigham City and a corridor linking Midvale, West Jordan and South Jordan, which may be converted to light rail.

Expected to start in 2007, the commuter service will use existing freight tracks between Brigham City and Ogden, but UTA will add an additional track from Ogden to Salt Lake City.

The following week, UTA agreed to provide $1·1m to fund a bid for second-hand high-floor LRVs. Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority in San Jose is planning to replace its entire fleet with low-floor cars (RG 5.01 p286). UTA hopes to buy 25 cars for up to $35m, and Sacramento has expressed interest in the other 25.