The Beehive State: An Intrastate Passenger Rail System

for Utah Using Existing Union Pacific Tracks

Mike Christensen, Department of City and Metropolitan Planning, University of Utah
Keith Bartholomew, Advisor

Figure 3: Amtraks Adirondack in Saratoga Springs, New York. Credit: Wikimedia/AEMoreira042281.

Introduction

Figure 1: Map showing the two proposed Beehive State routes, the route of the existing Amtrak California Zephyr, other rail lines, and proposed and existing Amtrak stations.

This study will examine the feasibility of establishing passenger rail routes within Utah, which would run on existing Union Pacific
tracks. These trains will be referred to as the Beehive State, which is a reference to the state nickname. Two Beehive State routes are proposed: the first from Logan to Cedar City, and the second from Logan to Moab. Figure 1 is a map showing the two proposed routes,
the route of the existing Amtrak California Zephyr, other rail lines in Utah, and also connecting bus service between Cedar City and
Saint George. The proposed nine new stations are shown along with the four existing Amtrak stations highlighted in blue. Figure 2 is a
table showing the 2010 Census populations surrounding the stations along the proposed Beehive State routes with the existing Amtrak stations highlighted in blue.

Purpose and Need

Currently transportation options in Utah outside of the Wasatch Front are limited to driving, flying, and some buses. This study presents passenger rail as an option to increase the mobility choices of both Utah residents and visitors to Utah.

Logan

Why Amtrak?
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, known as Amtrak, was created by the Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970 in order to relieve freight railroads of the federally-mandated requirement to operate passenger service. As part of the agreement, freight railroads
are required to allow reasonable access at a reasonable price to trains operated by Amtrak.

Brigham City

Amtrak operates three types of passenger rail service:

1. Overnight trains that travel long distances across multiple states. The California Zephyr, which crosses Utah travelling between Chicago and San Francisco, is an example.

Ogden

2. The Northeast Corridor, which connects Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and many locations in between, and
offers hourly (or better) rail service.
3. State-sponsored corridor service. New Yorks Adirondack, which connects New York City, Albany, Saratoga Springs, and Montreal, is
an example and is pictured in Figure 3.
As of 2016, 18 states pay Amtrak to operate passenger rail service. Figure 4 is a map showing the Amtrak system and stations with the
18 states sponsoring Amtrak corridor service highlighted in yellow.

Prospective Schedules
Figure 5 and Figure 6 are tables showing how service could initially start with one trip per day on each route (Figure 5) and then increased over time (Figure 6). The schedule of the existing California Zephyr is highlighted in blue, the schedule of the proposed Logan
to Moab Beehive State route is highlighted in orange, the schedule of the proposed Logan to Cedar City Beehive State route is highlighted in red, and connecting bus service between Cedar City and Saint George highlighted in green. These Beehive State schedules
are for illustration purposes only and are based solely on an average speed of 45 mph rather than based on actual track conditions.

Figure 4: Map showing the Amtrak system and stations with states sponsoring Amtrak corridor service.

Topics to Be Explored

Salt Lake City

to
Elko,
Reno,
Sacramento,
and
San Francisco

Topics that will be explored as this study progresses include:

1. Coordinating with Union Pacific to develop a prospective schedule based on actual track conditions.
2. Exploring potential business models for the operation of Beehive State routes.

Provo

3. Estimating the potential ridership of the Beehive State routes.

4. Identifying necessary and optional track improvements.
5. Estimating costs of improvements and operations.

Sources
Amtrak. Amtrak Government Affairs: April 2012: State-Supported Corridor Trains: FY 2011-12. April 2012. http://www.amtrak.com/
ccurl/298/423/Corridor-Trains-2011-Final.pdf.

Nephi

Amtrak. Amtrak System Timetable: Winter-Spring 2016. January 11, 2016. http://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/208/804/Amtrak-System-Timetable-Winter-Spring-2016.pdf.

Helper

Bureau of Transportation Statistics. National Transportation Atlas Databases. 2015. http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/

files/publications/national_transportation_atlas_database/2015/index.html.
Moreira, Adam E. Amtrak Train 69 at Saratoga Springs Station. July 3, 2007. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Amtrak_GE_Genesis_P42_166_at_Saratoga_Springs.jpg.

Delta

U.S. Census Bureau. 2010 Census. http://www.census.gov/2010census/.

U.S. Geological Survey. The National Map Small Scale. Accessed January 21, 2016. http://nationalmap.gov/small_scale/atlasftp.html.
Utah Automated Geographic Reference Center. State Geographic Information Database. Accessed January 21, 2016. http://gis.utah.gov/
data/.

Green River

to
Grand Junction,
Denver,
Omaha,
and
Chicago

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International
License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.

Figure 2: Table showing populations surrounding the stations along the proposed Beehive State routes.

Figure 5: Table showing initial schedule of Beehive State routes and existing California Zephyr.

2010
City
Station/City Population
Logan
48,174
Brigham City
17,899
Ogden
82,825
Salt Lake City
186,440
Provo
112,488
Helper
2,201
Green River
1,132
Moab
5,046
Nephi
4,733
Delta
3,436
Milford
1,420
Cedar City
28,857
Saint George
72,897

California Beehive Beehive

Zephyr
State
State
6
X1
X3
Daily
Daily
Daily
6Read Down6
from
6 36A
9 36A
San Francisco
and
7 45A 10 45A
Reno
6
8 12A 11 12A
3 30A
9 00A 12 00N
4 35A 10 00A
1 00P
6 37A 11 38A
7 59A
1 12P
6
2 18P
to
Denver,
1 54P
Omaha,
3 16P
and
Chicago
4 52P
6 22P
6 37P
7 32P

2010
County
County
Population
Cache
112,656
Box Elder
49,975
Weber
231,236
Salt Lake
1,029,655
Utah
516,564
Carbon
21,403
Emery
10,976
Grand
9,225
Juab
10,246
Millard
12,503
Beaver
6,629
Iron
46,163
Washington
138,115

2010
2010
2010
5-mile Radius 10-mile Radius 15-mile Radius
Population
Population
Population
75,604
103,079
112,046
23,525
33,099
86,202
144,160
336,513
436,019
207,253
615,266
970,460
157,445
290,725
406,626
4,974
16,879
19,577
1,134
1,163
1,166
7,682
9,465
9,465
5,653
7,555
9,987
4,839
6,472
7,283
1,603
1,702
2,642
31,784
40,140
41,247
86,829
106,822
113,768

3Train Name4

Mile
0
52
73
110
154
228
299
349
196
257
329
397
0
53

3Train Number4
3Days of Operation4
Station
Logan, UT
Brigham City, UT
Ogden, UT
Salt Lake City, UT
Provo, UT
Helper, UT
Green River, UT
Moab, UT
Nephi, UT
Delta, UT
Milford, UT
Cedar City, UT
Cedar City, UT
Saint George, UT

Beehive Beehive California

State
State
Zephyr
X4
X2
5
Daily
Daily
Daily
5Read Up5
to
7 25P 10 25P San Francisco
and
6 16P
9 16P
Reno
5
5 49P
8 49P
5 00P
8 00P
11 05P
4 00P
7 00P
9 26P
5 23P
7 20P
3 49P
5 58P
5
2 43P
from
Denver,
3 07P
Omaha,
1 45P
and
Chicago
12 09P
10 39A
10 09A
9 14A

Moab
Milford

Cedar City

Figure 6: Table showing schedule of Beehive State routes with increased service and the existing California Zephyr.
California Beehive Beehive Beehive Beehive Beehive Beehive Beehive Beehive
3Train Name4
Zephyr
State
State
State
State
State
State
State
State
6
X9
X11
X1
X3
X13
X15
X5
X7
3Train Number4
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
3Days of Operation4
Mile Station
6Read Down6
from
3 36A
4 36A
6 36A
9 36A 12 36P
2 36P
5 36P
9 36P
0 Logan, UT
San Francisco
and
4 45A
5 45A
7 45A 10 45A
1 45P
3 45P
6 45P 10 45P 52 Brigham City, UT
Reno
5 12A
6 12A
8 12A 11 12A
2 12P
4 12P
7 12P 11 12P 73 Ogden, UT
6
3 30A
6 00A
7 00A
9 00A 12 00N
3 00P
5 00P
8 00P 12 00M 110 Salt Lake City, UT
4 35A
7 00A
8 00A 10 00A
1 00P
4 00P
6 00P
9 00P
1 00A 154 Provo, UT
6 37A
8 38A
11 38A
5 38P
228 Helper, UT
7 59A 10 12A
1 12P
7 12P
299 Green River, UT
6
11 18A
2 18P
8 18P
349 Moab, UT
to
Denver,
8 54A
1 54P
6 54P
9 54P
1 54A 196 Nephi, UT
Omaha,
10 16A
3 16P
8 16P
257 Delta, UT
and
Chicago
11 52A
4 52P
9 52P
329 Milford, UT
1 22P
6 22P
11 22P
397 Cedar City, UT
1 37P
6 37P
11 37P
0 Cedar City, UT
2 32P
7 32P
0 32P
53 Saint George, UT

Beehive Beehive Beehive Beehive Beehive Beehive Beehive California Beehive

State
State
State
State
State
State
State
Zephyr
State
X12
X10
X16
X14
X4
X2
X8
5
X6
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
Daily
5Read Up5
to
9 25A 12 25P
3 25P
4 25P
7 25P 10 25P 12 25A San Francisco
2 25A
and
8 16A 11 16A
2 16P
3 16P
6 16P
9 16P 11 16P
1 16A
Reno
5
7 49A 10 49A
1 49P
2 49P
5 49P
8 49P 10 49P
12 49A
7 00A 10 00A
1 00P
2 00P
5 00P
8 00P 10 00P
11 05P 12 00M
6 00A
9 00A 12 00N
1 00P
4 00P
7 00P
9 00P
9 26P 11 00P
11 23A
5 23P
7 20P
9 23P
9 49A
3 49P
5 58P
7 49P
5
8 43A
2 43P
6 43P
from
Denver,
5 07A
8 07A 11 07A
3 07P
8 07P
Omaha,
9 45A
1 45P
6 45P
and
Chicago
8 09A
12 09P
5 09P
6 39A
10 39A
3 39P
6 09A
10 09A
3 09P
5 14A
9 14A
2 14P

Saint George
Existing Amtrak Route
Logan - Cedar City Route
Logan - Moab Route
Saint George Bus
Other Rail Lines

Existing Station
New Station

0
0

50
50

100 Miles
100 Kilometers