PROVO, Utah - Commuters got their first chance to try out the new FrontRunner South line that travels from Salt Lake City to Provo.
The FrontRunner South line has seven stops: downtown Salt Lake City, near Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, near the South Towne Center in South Jordan, Draper, Lehi, American Fork, within walking distance to Utah Valley University in Orem and Provo.
Passengers got free rides on Saturday, and trains were packed with commuters as they got a chance to experience the 80 trains making the one-way hour-long trip.
"We had a hard time finding a seat for our whole family together," said Spanish Fork resident Shirlene Jenkins.
With the new line, commuters can now travel from Weber County to Provo, stopping at major points along the way and making transfers to bus or TRAX lines fast and easy. UTA estimates that around 7,000 people will take advantage of the new line every day.
"I'm glad it's here. Transferring from buses. It used to take me three hours to get from Provo to Layton. Now it takes about an hour," said Robert Sniderman.
The $850 million project was finished under budget and ahead of schedule, but some travelers say they've been waiting a long time and they're glad it's finally here.
The new line will officially begin service on Monday. A one-way ticket for adults between Provo and Salt Lake City costs $5.65 and a trip from Provo to Ogden costs $8.95. Trains run every 30 minutes during rush our and hourly during non-peak hours.
To see train times and fares, visit www.rideuta.com.
