TRAX extension big step in going modal

It's less than a mile - little more than five of those big Salt Lake City blocks - but the TRAX light-rail extension that's now ready for electric trains is the linchpin in Utah's fast-stretching web of public transportation.
    "We are now becoming multi-multi-modal," Utah Transit Authority general manager John Inglish said Friday at a news conference celebrating the line's completion. The extension runs past the Gateway shopping district and links TRAX to a hub that next week will serve commuter rail from Ogden plus existing Amtrak and long-haul bus travel. Some day the city and UTA hope to add other modes such as bicycle rentals and a downtown circulator train.
    "This community has stepped forward and made a commitment to transit and to rail that is unparalleled probably in the country," said Mayor Ralph Becker.
    Indeed, Salt Lake City paid 25 percent of the rail extension's $41.7 million price tag. The federal government paid 45 percent, and UTA paid the rest with local sales-tax revenues.
    The line wraps around Energy Solutions Arena, home of the Utah Jazz, at 400 West, heading south to 200 South, then west to 600 West and south to the hub. The route adds three TRAX stations: Planetarium at 125 S. 400 West, Old Greektown at 200 S. 500 West and Salt Lake Central at 300 S. 600 West.
    The would-be ribbon cutting hit a glitch when the TRAX train testing its new rails and overhead electric connections hooked a cable and pulled the power lines down onto itself about an hour before the news conference. The trains had just started testing the tracks under their own power Thursday evening, and this one snagged a cable that hadn't been set at the proper tension, Inglish said.