SALT LAKE CITY — Stadler and the Utah Transit Authority have signed a contract calling for construction of up to 80 new light rail vehicles for UTA’s TRAX service in the Salt Lake City area.
The contract signed today (Oct. 23, 2024) following approval by the UTA board of trustees includes an initial $129 million agreement for 20 Stadler Citylink light rail cars to be built at the company’s Salt Lake City plant, funding in part by a Federal Transit Administration grant. It includes options for 60 additional vehicles. More than 800 units of the low-floor design have been sold in Europe since 2003.
Stadler CEO Markus Bernsteiner called the agreement a “milestone.
“The UTA is the first light rail order in the United States for Stadler and the first large Citylink order outside the European continent,” Bernsteiner said in a press release. “We are convinced the Citylink will be well received by customers here.”
Martin Ritter, CEO of Stadler US, said it was a “massive honor” for the company to build trains for its home town.
“Most of our workforce and their families live in and around Salt Lake City and will ride these new trains,” Ritter said, “so the excitement can be felt throughout our entire facility today. We are thrilled to partner with UTA as they modernize their TRAX network to provide a state-of-the-art public transit system built by Utahns for Utahns.”
UTA Executive Director Jay Fox said the new trains will carry 14% more passengers than the current fleet.
“The location of Stadler’s manufacturing facility in Utah provides a unique opportunity for UTA to work directly with our equipment supplier and fast track adjustments that develop throughout the build process,” Fox said. “With a 25-year-old TRAX system and ridership already up 17% this year systemwide, these new vehicles will help UTA modernize and expand its light rail system for generations to come.”
Bravo to Utah for keeping the money local. However, they are giving up a known quantity, Siemens, for an untried vehicle in the United States. I have no doubt whatsoever that Stadler will do right in their backyard but it means repeating the learning curve for the operators and maintainers.
“Order is Stadler’s first for light rail vehicles in U.S.”
Except for the other Stadler Flirts running in the U.S. and Canada. Ottawa’s Trillium Line is specifically light rail, despite using DMUs. The similar U.S. operations are the Arrow line out of Redlands, California and the Dallas Silver Line. Those might be considered heavy rail, but will operate on pretty much a light rail basis. What we once thought of as the sharp line between light rail and commuter rail continues to evaporate, especially with the Stadler KISS electrics now running on Caltrain.
Are the units going to be stainless steel?
Stadler does not manufacture vehicles of stainless steel.