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UTA/FrontRunner - PTC costs to shut line to Pleasant View


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#1 CNJRoss

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Posted 22 February 2018 - 10:38 AM

Railway Age, 2/21/18:
 

PTC costs to shut Utah commuter line

 

 

Transit officials in Utah plan to suspend services on a segment of commuter rail connecting the suburbs north of Salt Lake City, citing the prohibitive cost of complying with new federal safety rules mandating PTC (Positive Train Control).

 

FrontRunner commuter rail service to Pleasant View, with the lowest ridership in the Utah Transit Authority system, will indefinitely end in August. 

 

SNIP 

 

The segment is one of the lightest-traveled of the system, stretching from Pleasant View south to Provo, carrying about 35 southbound passengers each day, according to UTA.  .  .  .

 

Continue here.



#2 KevinKorell

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Posted 22 February 2018 - 11:51 AM

To further explain this, FrontRunner uses its own right-of-way along most of its system. In other words along the majority of its entire route, commuter trains do not share trackage with freight trains.  That is, except for the northernmost segment beyond Ogden to Pleasant View, where the separate track ends and does run along with UP freights.  Throughout its short history, UP has only allowed one or two trains on its tracks per weekday rush hour.   The trains did do one revenue round trip each rush hour (twice per day), and there were also trains that run up to Pleasant View and then deadheaded back to other way.  This extension was achieved mostly by through trains from Provo and Salt Lake City, although for short periods of time there were also shuttles that passengers had to physically change to or from at Ogden.   

 

I can see how the PTC upgrade costs might not make this segment worthy of the continuation of service, at least not until there is more ridership achieved through an extension up to Brigham City.  At some point, however, UP will need to have it installed for its own trains.



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#3 jis

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Posted 23 February 2018 - 01:02 PM

The PTC issue is that UTA uses something called E-ATC as their PTC implementation on their tracks. UP uses I-ETMS, and that is what is implemented between Ogden and Pleasant View. In order for UTA to operate to Pleasant View they would need to equip their engines and cab cars for that operation with I-ETMS in addition to E-ATC or have UP units operate just that segment for them. Either course is cost prohibitive for the ridership of 35. So UTA chose to discontinue service until such time that they can extend their own trackage with their own PTC all the way to Pleasant View and actually further to Brigham City that is in their long term plans. Meanwhile apparently there will be a connecting bus or some such.



#4 KevinKorell

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Posted 23 February 2018 - 01:17 PM

......   And the connecting bus is nothing new.  When FrontRunner opened, the Ogden-Pleasant View segment was delayed (but started with bus connection) because UP forces were elsewhere in the country cleaning up after a serious derailment.  There were other interim periods where the segment was bustituted.

 

As Jishnu alluded to one possibility of an engine change, that would not be in anyone's best interest.  Labor would have to be paid to workers to do the engine change, and doing such for so few people for a ride of a few minutes would not make sense in terms of time. In other words, the time for the engine change (something we've all seen happen in places like Washington and New Haven) would take longer than the trip time between the site of the change (Ogden) and the end of the line.  That would drive the few regular commuters they have away.



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#5 CNJRoss

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Posted 28 February 2018 - 11:22 AM

Standard-Examiner, Ogden, UT:

 
Pleasant View FrontRunner station closing in August due to new safety rules

Saturday , February 17, 2018\

 

Pleasant-View-FrontRunner.jpg

Image by: TIM VANDENACK/Standard-Examiner

Utah Transit Authority officials told North Ogden and Pleasant View officials that FrontRunner service to the Pleasant View station, shown here on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018, will cease indefinitely on Aug. 12, 2018.

 

 

PLEASANT VIEW — FrontRunner commuter rail service to Pleasant View, with the lowest ridership in the Utah Transit Authority system, will indefinitely end in August.

 

The plans stem from federal rules requiring implementation of increased safety measures on commuter and freight trains and tracks by December. The cost to upgrade trains using the line north of the Ogden FrontRunner station to Pleasant View, owned by Union Pacific Railroad, would be prohibitive, thus officials opted to halt service to Pleasant View instead.

 






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