Due to federal funding , the initial of the Red Line ( or the University Line , as it was initially named ) , from downtown Salt Lake to the University of Utah , was operational by December 15 , 2001 — after 16 months of construction and well ahead of the original schedule . Construction was expedited to be completed before the 2002 Winter Olympics , to enable spectators to take TRAX to the opening ceremonies at Rice-Eccles Stadium . In light of heightened security in the wake of the 9/11 attacks , however , light rail service was suspended during the opening and closing ceremonies . Buses were used instead , and though also vulnerable , transported attendees without incident . An extension of further east to the University of Utah Medical Center was completed September 29 , 2003 , and an expansion of to South Jordan in the southwestern corner of the metropolitan area opened on August 7 , 2011 with service to the Daybreak Community . At this same time TRAX lines began to be referred to by a color-coded name ( rather than destinations ) and the Red Line trains no longer traveled downtown , instead bypassing the city center and heading south and then southwest
9/11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Utah Transit Authority