Utah leaders say expect better prices, fewer trucks on the roads with opening of new railway facility

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah leaders are celebrating the opening of a new railway facility on Salt Lake City’s west side.

The new facility is located across from the Amazon warehouse off Interstate 80, just 5 miles from the Salt Lake City International Airport.

At a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday morning, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox made some bold claims about this new 43-acre intermodal hub. He drew comparisons to this announcement and Salt Lake City being awarded the 2034 Winter Olympics.

“It (the facility) is every bit as big … (and) important as that Olympic announcement,” Cox said. “I am equally excited for this announcement as I was the Olympics.”

The governor told KSL NewsRadio after the ceremony that this facility will help Utah’s supply chain.

“It’s going to make it easier to ship goods from Utah and to Utah … and do so even cheaper than we’ve been able to do so in the past,” Cox said.

The governor also said this new intermodal hub will help with how much Utahns are having to pay at the store over time.

“That means shrinking supply chain costs and … lowering inflation for the people of Utah,” Cox said. “It’s going to help our pocketbooks, it’s going to create jobs … and help our infrastructure.”

Cox also said this facility will reduce the number of trucks on our roads over time, which will help with traffic, air pollution and wear and tear to the roads. 

He also said it will create tens of thousands of local jobs over time, and have an impact from Salt Lake City to rural Utah.

The new intermodal facility connects Salt Lake City to BNSF Railway‘s 32,500-mile rail network across the Western U.S.

Talks and negotiations to get this facility in Utah have been in the works for about a decade, according to Cox and other state leaders.

The project was also done in partnership with Patriot Rail and the Utah Inland Port Authority.

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