This story is part of The Salt Lake Tribune’s ongoing commitment to identify solutions to Utah’s biggest challenges through the work of the Innovation Lab.
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If you Google “battery-powered train,” you’ll see pictures of toys.
Someday, you may see FrontRunner.
In a partnership between Stadler Rail and Utah State University’s ASPIRE center, work soon will begin on a two-car demonstration train that will be powered by banks of lithium batteries that allow emission-free travel on traditional rail lines that haven’t been electrified.
That opens up the vast majority of rail lines in Utah and the West to an alternative to lung- and climate-damaging diesel trains, including Utah’s Ogden-to-Provo FrontRunner line.
Up to this point, the idea of propelling a full-scale locomotive with nothing but batteries has not been practical for any trip beyond a few miles. The batteries and trains were just too heavy. But improvements in materials are bringing new opportunities.
Martin Ritter, president and CEO of Stadler US Inc., said battery-powered trains can work if they can go 50 or 60 miles between charges, but the test project with USU will try to stretch that when it begins test runs in 2025.
“We want to break the world record with that train,” Ritter said. “We’ll find out next year.”
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Martin Ritter, president and CEO of Stadler US Inc., gives a tour of an electric-powered train bound for California, which will soon connect San Jose to San Francisco, at Stadler Rail's plant in Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024.
The train is a variation of Stadler’s “FLIRT” trains, which are in use in commuter systems in the U.S. and Europe, including Dallas’ DART system. The trains are designed to handle various power systems. Dallas and others rely on diesel engines for power, but Stadler also has a hydrogen-powered version of FLIRT that is being built for a San Bernardino, Calif., commuter system. The two-car train Stadler will build for the USU test will be battery powered.
UTA’s plans
The Utah Transit Authority has made electrification of FrontRunner part of its long-term plan, but there is no funding or timetable yet for such a project.
“Electrification is not on the front burner at this time,” said UTA spokesperson Carl Arky. “It is in long-range plans but is far off in the future.”
Arky said the more pressing matter for FrontRunner is getting double tracks for the whole run so it can handle more trains. Once that is completed, he added, “it will in all likelihood lead to further discussions about electrification.”
ASPIRE is studying what it would take to convert to an emission-free FrontRunner, and battery-powered trains require significantly less infrastructure than an electrified line that has a continuous connection for power.
The train will be built this year at Stadler’s manufacturing plant near Salt Lake City International Airport. Regan Zane, USU professor of electrical and computer engineering and the director of ASPIRE, envisions the train making demonstration runs between the Stadler plant and downtown Salt Lake City. He would like to see the entire FrontRunner line converted to the battery-powered trains, but he acknowledges that UTA will have a competitive bidding process.
“We’d like to put it in the strongest light we can,” Zane said. “It would meet the requirements as a replacement for FrontRunner. It’s a ready-to-go solution. "
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) A diesel-powered train bound for the Dallas area nears shipment at Stadler Rail's plant in Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. The diesel train's engine compartment, pictured here, is designed so it can be converted to a battery-powered system in the future.
The Utah Legislature gave ASPIRE, an acronym for “Advancing Sustainability through Powered Infrastructure for Roadway Electrification,” the job of developing a broad framework for electrification of all transportation in the state.
That presents opportunities to solve more than one problem at once, perhaps combining train charging sites with other needs.
More than FrontRunner
“We’re not looking at FrontRunner alone,” Zane said. “The infrastructure is significant, and it could be fairly expensive. So we’re looking at the bigger picture of electrification in the state — buses, microtransit, charging stations.”
Ritter believes the train is a chance to erase old thinking. “There’s a perception out there that for trains it’s not going to work.”
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Railroad trucks near final installation on electric trains at Stadler Rail's plant in Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024.
He said bus manufacturers moved into batteries a few years ago, “and some of the companies couldn’t keep up with the promises made.” Keeping the buses heated and cooled and some “lead-footed operators” made it tough for the buses to reach their range.
FLIRT trains are largely made of aluminum to reduce weight, and cars have wheels that power them, which is more efficient when starting and stopping than the traditional locomotive pulling cars.
