The S-Line Streetcar could soon be hauling passengers every 15 minutes thanks to Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams and the Salt Lake County Council, which voted to provide $4.5 million to “double track” a portion of the line in South Salt Lake City.
Total cost of the project is expected to be approximately $6 million. The money from Salt Lake County, along with funds allocated by the Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) program, would be enough to get the project off the ground and provide approximately $400,000 for at least four years of the increased operational and maintenance costs.
“We are grateful to Mayor McAdams and the Salt Lake County Council for approving these funds to potentially double track the S-Line, making Streetcar service more accessible to everyone traveling in South Salt Lake and Sugar House,” said Jerry Benson, CEO of the Utah Transit Authority. “This is such a vibrant area of our community and with development increasing at a fast pace, going to 15 minute frequency should provide for increased ridership.”
S-Line trains currently run on a single track from the Central Pointe TRAX Station to Fairmont Station at 1040 East. The new funding would allow for the line to be double-tracked in South Salt Lake City between 300 and 500 East, allowing streetcars to pass by each other in the middle of their route on the fly. This would allow UTA to increase the frequency of service on the S-Line from every 20 minutes to every 15 minutes.
Currently, the system requires one S-Line Streetcar to pull onto a side track and stop, while another streetcar moves past it.
UTA still needs to get some approvals and with design and utility work, construction could be expected to begin in early 2019.
