DRAPER — The gleaming exterior of the train begged further investigation by lots of little kids at Draper City Park.
"Looks pretty exciting, doesn't it?" Draper resident Jeni Andersen asked her three young boys as they climbed around inside the idling train car.
The Andersen family rides Utah Transit Authority's TRAX light rail from nearby Sandy to Salt Lake City, sometimes just for fun, and the kids love trains.
Tuesday, the public was offered a chance to see a new type of train technology that may one day rumble down the 175 miles of rail corridor UTA purchased last year from Union Pacific.
The idling curiosity was Colorado Railcar's prototype diesel multiple unit, a $3 million commuter car that doesn't need a locomotive to pull it or overhead electric lines to power it down the tracks.
The 100-ton DMU is powered by two 600-horsepower diesel engines underneath the car that can get it going 90 mph and move about 200 people per car. Several cars can be joined together.
"The big deal on this is that it's FRA (Federal Railroad Administration) compliant," said Todd Provost, UTA systems engineer.
For passengers inside one of these cars, it means they'll be safer in a crash. So safe, Provost said, that a DMU could operate on the same line as heavier freight traffic and still be considered safer than a light rail car if either were in an accident with a freight train. TRAX operates only on lines designated for light rail.
The atmosphere on board the Colorado Railcar DMU is pretty plush, with leather seats, tables, outlets for computers, lots of glass for great views, a kitchenette, TV and a bathroom you don't need to fold yourself into. But if UTA were to purchase DMU technology for its commuter rail line, it might go with a scaled-down version.
"There's a lot of people anxious for this type of transportation," said Gene Woy, a consultant to Colorado Railcar, which has been showing off its baby to transit agencies all over the country. Colorado Railcar is based in Fort Lupton, Colo.
While it's possible one of these cars could be used for light rail, the more likely use for UTA would be for commuter rail. The overall costs to implement a DMU system for commuter rail, at least in the short run, would be cheaper because an electric system requires much more infrastructure with poles and overhead wires.
Transit agencies in North Carolina and Portland, Ore., may be the closest to using a DMU, Provost said. Right now, UTA is merely looking at what technologies are out there.
UTA is currently doing environmental work in anticipation of establishing a commuter rail line between Salt Lake City and Ogden by 2007.
The Colorado Railcar DMU will be in Lehi today, 4-7 p.m., at 250 E. State.
E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com