For starters, the wireless Internet remains spotty - a problem the Utah Transit Authority had hoped to fix last week but now says will take through this week for antennae and software adjustments. But some of the issues on the FrontRunner line that opened April 26 are more basic: buying tickets and getting there on time.
Some riders report having to run for or even miss trains because a ticket vending machine in Ogden has trouble reading a credit card. Others have had trouble with a machine at Salt Lake Central platform. In such cases, UTA has allowed some leeway and if employees are nearby they advise passengers to go ahead and board but buy the ticket on the other end, spokeswoman Carrie Bohnsack-Ware said.
Mechanical problems also have made their way onto the rails. A train that left Layton at 4:55 p.m. Tuesday broke down on the Frontrunner tracks, stranding passenger Wesley Jarman in Woods Cross for more than an hour after his intended train left the station 10 minutes ahead of schedule.
"I thought it was going to be great because my office is less than a block away," said Jarman, who works at i4 Solutions in Woods Cross. "I will not rely on the train again.
Passengers leaving Salt Lake City also lost a rush hour train, which was used to pick up those who had taken the Layton train that broke down, Bohnsack-Ware said. All trains were back on schedule by 6:25 p.m., she said.
Daily passenger David Bloomfield is more bothered by the frequent stops near the single-track portions of the Ogden-Salt Lake line to allow other trains to pass. They often take a couple of minutes.
The stops sometimes lead to short delays, which may be significant to people who must transfer to TRAX light-rail trains or buses before reaching work. One day last week, for instance, Bloomfield's morning Clearfield-Salt Lake train ride pulled into the city station at 6:43 a.m. instead of at the scheduled 6:37 arrival.
"I realize FrontRunner is still new, but they've been doing trial runs for so long. Why are they having to pull over so much?" Bloomfield said. "They should have that all figured out."
Bohnsack-Ware said it's true that train operators practiced the route beforehand, but it's been different since passengers have been boarding at each station. "They are just getting used to waiting for the passengers to get on and off, so it may throw things off just a little," she said.
"In all, these are all very minor issues that are common when a brand new service like FrontRunner starts up," she said. "There were also minor issues when TRAX first ran in December of 1999."
bloomis@sltrib.com
