UTA not planning to sell any additional surplus locomotives

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SALT LAKE CITY — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has its eyes on Utah's FrontRunner locomotives, but it may have to settle for the two shiny, new engines it's already got.

The Utah Transit Authority seems to be holding on to what's left, even if surplus engines are sitting in a garage somewhere.

"We ordered more than we needed," UTA spokesman Gerry Carpenter said Monday, adding that it is always necessary to have some spare engines on hand when others need maintenance, as well as to plan for future operational needs.

The "future" will incorporate the remaining 3,600-horsepower machines into the new Provo-bound FrontRunner lines, as well as accommodate increased ridership as the economy picks up over the years, Carpenter said.

Years ago and based on pre-recession revenue projections, UTA purchased 11 locomotives from Boise-based MotivePower, planning to put them in use as the system expanded south. Soon after, when numbers proved not too profitable for the agency, UTA was approached by at least two out-of-state transit departments, about its recent acquisition.

The opportunity to improve cash flow was an incentive for UTA.

"We still had a commitment to the taxpayers to not only build the new lines, but also have money to operate them and with lower sales-tax revenues, we had to tighten up ship, so to speak," Carpenter said.

Minneapolis-St. Paul's Northstar commuter-rail system hit up UTA to lease one of its unused engines. The transaction went through and now, after nearly two years of $300-per-day payments, the Minnesota system has a hankering to own the engine. UTA board members aren't yet sure how they'll act on that, as they are still in the process of negotiating.

Two engines were also sold to the MBTA to liven up its aging and malfunctioning fleet. Now the agency wants a few more. And while the $3.5 million purchase price for each beefed up UTA's budget opportunities last year, "we need to focus on the commitment we made to taxpayers to continue our operation," Carpenter said.

At the time a purchase agreement was reached, MBTA's General Manager Richard Davey said it was "a great opportunity for us to get some quick help" for the compromised system. The new locomotives from UTA provided improved reliability and performance for MBTA's "T" trains, as well as higher fuel efficiency and decreased emissions. It signaled a definite and immediate boon to their transit business.

However, UTA isn't interested in passing around additional trains.

"We have our operating plan established and don't have any room to sell any more locomotives," Carpenter said. He said UTA may consider leasing a few more engines, because, "it takes time to build these big things," and the MBTA is waiting on the Idaho manufacturer for its full order to be processed.

Plus, the Utah agency wants to ensure its $30 million investment is protected and maintained well.

At any given time, UTA's FrontRunner is running five to six engines of its 10 previously existing fleet members on its Salt Lake-to-Ogden line, along with 15 to 18 bi-level passenger cars in connection. That represents about a third of its entire fleet, which is made up of 18 total engines, 38 bi-level and 25 refurbished, older cars originally purchased from New Jersey Transit.

The purchase order on the new engines may have been overzealous, but Carpenter said when the new lines open, the agency will be right where it wants to be.

"We wanted to ensure that we had an adequate fleet size to ensure that we could maintain proper operation and have spare locomotives to compensate for routine maintenance and any other concerns," he said, adding that UTA now has enough trains to meet their current and future service needs.

And the MBTA is basking in their new, "gleaming, streamlined Utah engines," as recently reported in the Boston Globe.

E-mail:wleonard@ksl.com