FOX13: UTA tests TRAX safety measures along Mid-Jordan line

At FOX13, there's a story about UTA testing the newly modified safety measures on the Mid-Jordan TRAX line. Read it here.

 

WEST JORDAN, Utah — Test TRAX trains were on the new Mid-Jordan line again Tuesday, four weeks after 15-year-old Shariah Casper was killed by a train in West Jordan.

Watch the video here:
 

'Dangerous West Side Improvements' -- Letter to Salt Lake City Weekly

An SLC Weekly reader says during the North Temple viaduct project, she's seen adults "climbing over" trains to get to and from downtown to work and shop.

Almost every day when school was in session, the students from West High had to wait up to 45 minutes for a Union Pacific train on 300 North that had their only path home blocked, or they could chance climbing over it. When U.P. offered to split the bill with the city to build an overhead walkway, our city couldn’t afford it. Countless times, on my way to get to TRAX, or downtown to work, I’ve been late. Although I consider my self too clumsy to attempt it, I’ve seen many adults climbing over trains on 600 West. 600 West is the only way in and out of our neighborhood to get to public transportation, to get to our jobs. There aren’t even any sidewalks for a block in this urban neighborhood.

Tribune headline: 'Utah ex-official alleges retribution behind layoff'

At The Salt Lake Tribune, there's a story quoting a former state official who says he was fired for not helping to develop a FrontRunner station -- and associated building and infrastructure -- at an important archaeological site in Draper.

Another former state official says he was laid off — more than two years ago — for getting in the way of plans to develop an ancient Indian village archaeological site for a Draper commuter rail station.

New TRAX trains in service July 7, etc.

RailwayAge reports that,

Some TRAX passengers in Salt Lake City and vicinity will begin riding Siemens S70 light rail transit cars Thursday, July 7, as the cars begin entering revenue service. The S70s will enter limited service on direct trains that operate from Fashion Place Station (6400 South) in Murray to the University of Utah Medical Center Station on weekdays. The new trains will be featured on 10 northbound and 10 southbound trips each day.

The Mid-Jordan and West Valley TRAX lines are scheduled to open Aug. 7 and will operate exclusively with the new vehicles.

Those of us who frequently ride the downtown TRAX lines will find interesting:

UTA notes the S70 vehicles are low-floor cars that allow riders to board straight from the platform without climbing stairs.

I'm just curious as to whether the new trains work with existing platforms at established stations. I'm guessing they do, but maybe not.

And at The Salt Lake Tribune: "TRAX replacing broken electronic sign system"

When electronic signs at TRAX stations were new, they displayed when the next trains would arrive. But they quit working, and have been little more than digital clocks amid such problems as not being able to obtain replacement parts.

"The old signs had reached the end of their life cycle. We couldn’t get replacement parts. Support was not available. Some of the [companies] that built the original system had gone out of business," said UTA spokesman Gerry Carpenter.

He said UTA found that because of such problems, the old signs would not be compatible with new signs it is installing on the new Mid-Jordan and West Valley City lines (scheduled to open on Aug. 7) and other extensions that are under construction to Draper and Salt Lake City International Airport.

So UTA decided to install a new sign system. It has removed the old signs on the existing Sandy and University of Utah lines.

Carpenter said new signs will be installed at the older stations over the next several months. Transfer and high-traffic stations will receive them first, and they will be added at other stations as crews and resources are available, he said.

The Deseret News reports on a new UTA board member: Troy Walker, a Draper city councilman.

And a press release notes that:

Lawson Products, Inc., an industrial distributor of more than 300,000 maintenance and repair solutions, was awarded a three-year contract to supply all of the Utah Transit Authority's (UTA) fastener needs. As per the agreement, Lawson Products will provide a minimum of 2,500 different fastener products including bolts, hex head cap screws, miniature fasteners, nuts, screws, socket products and washers to the multi-modal transportation leader that will be used for ongoing train track, rail car and bus maintenance.

Finally, at KCPW: "Salt Lake-Park City Bus Route Slated for October Launch"

Rail to Jeremy's Ranch?

The editorial board of The Salt Lake Tribune takes a wise position: Instead of adding a freeway lane up Parley's Canyon, why not work with UTA to create an express bus route or -- even better -- a rail line to Jeremy's Ranch?

"Summit County officials have said they would be open to putting a sales-tax measure on the ballot to fund UTA service. But nobody seems to be seriously considering that sensible approach to dealing with growth."

Test runs on the Mid-Jordan TRAX lines have been delayed

At The Salt Lake Tribune:

The Utah Transit Authority is again delaying resumption of test runs on its new Mid-Jordan TRAX line as it considers how to avoid accidents like the one that killed a 15-year-old in West Jordan on June 8.

Let's try this again

OK, I got sidetracked (pun!) a while back, but maybe this time I'll stick to it. Like I said: not so much to complain as to offer news and maybe a viewpoint now and then.

So, what got me blogging again? Two passenger cars on this morning's FR train to SLC. Most mornings, I take the 6:31 from Clearfield to Salt Lake Central. There are typically three Bombardier (the double-decker) cars in the morning. Today, only two. And one of the cars was a bicycle car, meaning one whole side of the downstairs compartment on my car was devoid of seats.

I stood to allow a couple of women to sit (I'm always surprised more men don't offer their seats). No big deal, but as I wrote in an email to UTA later in the day, it would have been nice to hear why we had only two cars. There was a train host aboard, but he made himself scarce. And the driver offered only that there had been a "malfunction" that left our train with only two cars.

I believe UTA could reduce most of the passenger frustration simply by offering as much information as possible. The host should have been telling everyone aboard exactly what went wrong. Lots of people around me were complaining; information would have silenced them and let us know what had happened.

This is quite common. When the trains sometimes start out of a station, then stop-start-stop-start even when no other train is approaching, we should know why. Most of us have schedules to keep, and it's a courtesy that's not too much to ask to be informed what's going on.