Frontrunner shows it can handle the traffic.

Frontrunner has shown itself to be very good at handling the traffic that it might carry in the future.

On the first day, it was reported by the media, that 5,000 riders had used the train by noon that day. That means that it may have possibly had 12,000 total riders, although I have no way of confirming that, it sounds reasonable given the early number.

It takes anywhere from 58 minutes to an hour and five minutes for the trains to make the trip between Ogden and Salt Lake, according to KSL Radio 1160/102.7. The time disparity apparently is due to how and where trains meet when one has to use a siding to wait for another train, due to the fact that this line is not 'double tracked' like TRAX is. See my earlier post on the problems that causes.

If UTA can resolve the double-tracking issue and get the second set of rails in, then they can run more trains, and that means they could have a potential for from 20,000 to 25,000 riders each day. And if they are able to run more trains, that will make the trip faster, double tracking will allow them to run at the top speed advertised and that would make my estimates more conservative, which means maybe 30,000 to 35,000 riders? They can't expand I-15 much further than is planned, in fact the train runs rather close to the freeway at one point, and the Legacy Freeway's capacity is constricted due to overzealous environmentalists.

So UTA deserves the praise it is getting for the success of Frontrunner.

In the next few days, once they start taking fares, we'll know what the actual daily ridership on average is going to be.