LISTEN: UTA plans to add double-track to FrontRunner

Double-tracking the FrontRunner

Right now, most of the FrontRunner tracks are single-rail. That means trains going in opposite directions from Provo to Ogden need to wait each other out. 

Only about 25% of our system is double track so we have to be really smart about how our trains pass one another, and that’s why we only provide a half hour service,” Fox said.

A full double-track system will eliminate those bottlenecks so the trains run faster and more frequently, he said.

“What the double tracking project will do will give us 15-minute service.” 

This is an important project not only for the future Olympics, Fox says, but for the entire region long-term, since “FrontRunner is the spine of our system.” 

High demand for transit service

The UTA reports that they are up 18% in ridership this year, heading to 40 million customers. FrontRunner this year alone is up 12.5%, Fox said. 

“The demand for our transit service is booming.”

Double-tracking will allow them extra capacity to continue to expand ridership numbers throughout the state.  

It also opens the door to Sunday FrontRunner service, Fox said. To accommodate the trains’ schedule, UTA does most of its maintenance on Sundays, but with the extra time the double-tracking change will provide, they can maintain trains throughout the week. 

The project is set to be completed by 2030, right in time for the Olympics.