Waiting for an opening-day celebration of the project he had nursed from complete failure to stuttering start, he watched and counted as the first few people lined up to take a free ride on his new light-rail line: TRAX.

"It was so cold," the Utah Transit Authority chief executive recalls. "I was thinking no one was going to ride it."

But they did.

They lined up at stations all along the 15-mile line from Sandy to the Delta Center. They were fathers and families, the young and old, women and men who had never lost their childlike excitement for trains.

And once on, some refused to get off, chanting: "Hell no, we won't go."

What a day. What a reception, says Inglish now, laughing.

"There were so many people that the body [of the train] sagged down and pinched an electric brake line," he says.

"We ended up having to add another free day," adds Mike Allegra, UTA chief development officer.

Sitting in Inglish's South Salt Lake office, the two chuckle and grimace as they reminisce about the "nightmare" that preceded the beginning of TRAX: A veritable lynching by talk radio, wild accusations of racketeering and a failed ballot initiative in 1992 that seemed to signal the death of light rail.

"We all threw in the towel," says Inglish.

But after the struggle, the future is looking good for Utah's transit empire.

Nearly 43,000 passengers ride the light-rail trains each weekday, and extensions are planned to Salt Lake City International Airport and several cities: Draper, West Jordan, West Valley, plus Sugar House.

Where once city leaders openly opposed the $312 million project, they now are pledging money and support in order to get a TRAX line. University of Utah students by the hundreds catch rides each day on the 2001 extension to the campus' Rice-Eccles Stadium, and beyond on the Medical Center extension.

That popularity is nearly double what UTA leaders anticipated at the outset: Ridership under 20,000, only on the single line from Sandy to the Delta Center.

And it can only get better, say transit leaders.

Commuter rail to Davis County has a projected start date in late 2007. Bus Rapid Transit is being planned for Salt Lake, Davis and Utah counties, and technological advances may mean interactive bus stops and more timely commutes.

But that growth in transit and technology - while being encouraged by Utah lawmakers who have spent the past two years studying potential funding options for transportation - is not on the wish list of some outspoken critics.

Michael Packard, a Sandy safety consultant, says UTA is hiding the truth behind its "success" with light rail. The increases in ridership haven't come from people leaving their cars.

They have come from the big, empty buses that lumber down Utah's roadways, he says.

"These people are masters at oversimplifying things and hiding details. It looks impressive, but the numbers don't match up with anything. They're running as fast as they can, but they're not standing still. They're going backwards, and it's costing us billions of dollars."

Case in point, according to Packard: The postponement of UTA's bus system redesign in Salt Lake County. Money already has been spent on the project, and more will be needed if it's continued to be pushed, he says.

Inglish and Allegra shrug off the criticism.

"As TRAX has proven, good transportation can also be a good light-rail system," says Inglish. "If it's good, they'll ride it - just as they have been now."

nwarburton@sltrib.com

TRAX timeline

l 1970 The Utah Transit Authority is created.

l 1983 Initial planning begins for light rail.

l 1986 Draft Environmental Impact study begins.

l 1992 Voters defeat a ballot referendum to fund a portion of TRAX.

l 1994 The environmental study concludes.

l 1993 UTA buys an old Union Pacific rail line for TRAX.

l 1995 Light rail is approved by regional transportation planners.

l 1996 Courts allow UTA to construct TRAX downtown, much to the chagrin of business owners.

l 1997 The UTA board approves the TRAX project.

l 1997 Construction begins on TRAX.

l 1999 TRAX opens from Sandy to the Delta Center.

l 2000 Ground is broken on the University of Utah extension.

l 2001 University of Utah extension completed.

l 2002 Construction begins on Medical Center extension.

l 2003 Medical Center extension opens.

Ceremony today

The Utah Transit Authority is celebrating five years of TRAX today with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its new rail service center in Midvale. Congressman Jim Matheson, D-Utah, and Salt Lake County acting Mayor Alan Dayton will speak.

Starting at 2 p.m., UTA employees will serve hot chocolate and treats to riders at the Gallivan Plaza station downtown.

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