Rolling stock manufacturing company Stadler signed a contract with the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) to supply up to eighty new light rail vehicles tailored for the UTA TRAX service in and around the state capital, Salt Lake City.

This is Stadler’s first large light rail contract in North America and the first serial contract in its US home state of Utah, where the UTA is carrying out a TRAX Modernization project to upgrade and expand its service over the next ten years. Stadler plans to manufacture the vehicles at its Salt Lake City site.

The first part of the contract will see Stadler supply twenty new Citylink light rail cars. The $129 million order is funded in part by a grant from the Federal Transit Administration.

Depending on additional funding, the contract includes options for sixty more vehicles.

The Citylink light rail vehicle can be modified and has a low-floor design that facilitates access. Stadler already supplies the vehicles to countries including Hungary and Wales.

Stadler established its U.S. headquarters in Salt Lake City in 2016, when it expanded its presence from Europe to the United States.

“With a 25-year-old TRAX system and ridership already up 17% this year systemwide, these new vehicles will help UTA modernize and expand its light rail system for generations to come.”

UTA Executive Director Jay Fox