This is Salt Lake City, Utah. Home to 2.4 million people, this US city is connected
by a network of rail and bus rapid transit lines, which service 78 stations across four counties.
Consisting of three light rail lines, one commuter rail line, one streetcar route,
and one BRT line, the system connects various neighborhoods across Salt Lake City,
forming the backbone of the transit network. But how did the system grow from its original
stations to the network it is today? My name’s Zach, and this is the Evolution of the Network.
Light rail service in Salt Lake City began in December 1999,
with the opening of the first section of the system. Starting from Sandy Civic Center,
the route travelled north into downtown, servicing 16 stations to Delta Center.
A second line was opened in December 2001, with the University Line beginning service.
Starting from a station at Rice-Eccles Stadium, the line travelled into downtown, following
the Sandy/Salt Lake line to Delta Center. In September 2003, the University line was
extended east, with three new stations opening to the University Medical Center.
A new station was opened on the Sandy/Salt Lake line in September 2005, with an infill station
beginning service at 900 South. The construction of nearby high density housing developments
necessitated the station’s construction, which had been proposed as part of the initial line six
years prior. A second infill station was opened in August 2006 near the south end of the Sandy/Salt
Lake line, with trains beginning service to Sandy Expo. In December of that year, Delta
Center station was renamed to Arena, coinciding with the name change of the nearby Delta Center.
Commuter rail service in Salt Lake City began in April 2008, with the opening of the FrontRunner.
Starting from Ogden in Weber County, the line ran south to downtown Salt Lake City,
servicing seven new stations. At the same time,
light rail service on both the Sandy/Salt Lake and University lines were extended further in downtown,
servicing three new stations to Salt Lake Central. In September of that year, a further extension of
the Frontrunner line opened, with limited service continuing north to Pleasant View.
Salt Lake City’s first dedicated bus lanes opened in April 2010, serving buses on the 35M MAX route.
Running along 3500 South, the 1 mile median busway serviced an enhanced station at 3600 West,
with buses continuing in mixed traffic to the Millcreek light rail station.
In August 2011, two new extensions of the light rail system were opened,
and a naming system was introduced. Nine new stations were opened in the south end of the city,
running west from Fashion Place West. Service on the University Line was renamed to the Red line,
and rerouted out of downtown to service stations on this segment. Four additional stations were
opened on a new line west from Central Pointe, with trains on the new Green Line running from
West Valley Central north through downtown to Salt Lake Central. The original Sandy/Salt Lake
line was also renamed to the Blue line, harmonizing naming across the network.
In September of that year, FrontRunner service was cut back in Weber County,
with trains no longer servicing Pleasant View. In December 2012, service on the FrontRunner was
extended south, with trains on the line running into Utah County. Seven new stations were serviced
south to Provo Central, including an interchange with the Red and Blue lines at Murray Central.
North of Salt Lake Central, an additional FrontRunner station was opened at North Temple Bridge.
Additionally, FrontRunner trains were extended north of Ogden once again,
with service resuming to Pleasant View. At the same time, Green line service
was cut back from Salt Lake Central, with trains on the route now ending at Arena.
Green line service was extended in April 2013, with a new branch of the route travelling west
from downtown. The line serviced six new stations to the Salt Lake City Airport,
including an interchange with FrontRunner at North Temple Bridge station. In August, the Blue line
was also extended south, with three new stations opening to Draper Town Center. Streetcar service
in Salt Lake City began in December of that year, with the opening of the S-Line. Starting
from Central Pointe station, the streetcar ran east, servicing six new stations to Fairmont.
In October 2016, construction on 3500S forced the closure of the median BRT, with buses on the 35M
being changed to run in mixed traffic. The median bus lanes remain in place today, with the station
at 3600W sitting unused and chained off. In August 2018, FrontRunner service was also cut back in
Weber County, with trains no longer extending to Pleasant View. Finally in January 2019,
Bus Rapid Transit was launched in Utah County, with the opening of the Utah Valley Express.
Nine stations were constructed along a pair of median bus lanes,
with buses running between Provo Central and Orem Central FrontRunner stations.
This brings us to the Salt Lake City rapid transit map that we known today.
In the years to come, more expansions are planned for the Salt Lake City area, which will see new
stations open across the region. In late 2023, a new bus rapid line will open in Weber county,
with five new median stations on Harrison Blvd. The line will continue in mixed traffic
after 32nd Street station, with buses running to Ogden FrontRunner station.
Additionally, a new median station has been constructed on the MAX 3500 S route at 3030W,
which will most likely see the resumption of service along the median busway.
At this time however, no opening date has been announced for this section, with the
median busway having been closed since October 2016. We’ve reached out to the Utah Transit
Authority for comment, and we’ll share their response in the comments section of this video.
That was the evolution of Salt Lake City’s rapid transit network,
giving us the five rail lines and one bus rapid transit route that we know today.
If you haven’t already, be sure to watch our Evolution of the Network videos on
other American cities, which you can access by clicking the button in the top right corner.
Don’t forget to leave a like if you enjoyed this video, and comment down below to join
in the discussion. My name’s Zach, and I’ll be Vanishing Underground, until the next one.