Grantsville City Mayor Neil Critchlow, Tooele County Council Chair Jared Hamner, Utah Governor Spencer J. Cox, Savage CEO Kirk Aubry, U.S. Senator-elect John Curtis, The Romney Group President and CEO Josh Romney, and Utah Representative Tim Jimenez.

Gov. Spencer Cox and Senator-elect John Curtis joined elected leaders from Tooele County and its cities along with representatives of Savage Tooele Railroad and the Lakeview Business Park to celebrate the start of construction of an 11-mile shortline that will serve the tenants of the 1,300-acre Lakeview Business Park.

The groundbreaking ceremony was held in the middle of 400 acres of the business park that lie north of the Utah Motorsports Campus off of Sheep Lane east of the Purple manufacturing building.

In April 2024, the U.S. Surface Transportation Board—an independent federal agency charged with the economic regulation of various modes of surface transportation, primarily freight rail—gave approval to Savage Tooele to construct, rehabilitate, and operate the short-line rail from Union Pacific’s Shafter Subdivision mainline near Burmester to the Lakeview Business Park.

Savage will rehabilitate most of the old Warner Spur using the existing rail and lay some new track on the southern end of the line and as the line enters the Lakeview Business Park. New track line will essentially circle the 400 acres north of UMC and may eventually cross Sheep Lane to the remaining 900 acres of the park, providing rail access to the park’s tenants.

The Lakeview Business Park lies in Grantsville City, and Grantsville Mayor Neil Critchlow expressed several reasons he was excited about the combination of the new rail line and the business park during the groundbreaking ceremony.

“We are very pleased with the progress toward reactivating the Warner Spur between the Union Pacific Railroad mainline near I-80 and Lakeview Business Park,” Critchlow said. “We expect that positive economic development within Grantsville City and the greater Tooele County area will be accelerated, enhancing the opportunity for our residents to find employment close to home.”

The Lakeview Business Park sits just off of the proposed extension of state highway 179, or the Midvalley Highway, which according to county officials is poised to stimulate economic growth and fortify regional connectivity.

Critchlow commented on the impact of the rail line on future traffic to the business park.

“The reduced truck traffic that this project will afford and the lower emission from residents no longer commuting to Salt Lake City for employment will ultimately enhance our quality of life and reduce the negative environmental impacts that increased truck and automobile traffic would otherwise cause,” he said.

Gov. Cox praised the railroad project and its impact on the economy of Tooele County and Utah.

“For some reason we stopped building big things like railroads, Cox said, “or we’ve made it harder. That was a huge mistake. We need to unleash the ingenuity of American dreamers. This is a historic project, and one that will have an enormous positive impact on the Utah economy. This new rail line will be a tremendous advantage for Utahns and Utah businesses for generations to come.”

Not everybody was excited about the reactivation of the Warner Spur. The line runs through Erda City, which held a town hall meeting about the rail line on June 25. After the meeting Erda City Council member Terry Miner, who lives in Gunderson Acres with the rail line adjacent to his backyard, commented: “Out of all of those state people and Congressmen that wrote in support of the railroad, none of them talked to us Erda City people or residents before they supported the railroad.”

The line will have two at grade crossings at SR-138 and Erda Way.

Savage officials said they will operate the rail line and crossings under the General Code of Operating Rules for railroads in the United States. Track speed will not exceed 25 mph. Savage Tooele Railroad intends to operate one train per day going to the Lakeview Business Park and one train leaving the business park, five days a week. Traffic at rail crossings should only be blocked by passing trains for approximately 90 seconds under normal conditions, according to Savage officials.

Savage Companies is a Utah-based global transportation and logistics company with a presence across the United States and Canada with operations in Saudi Arabia and Mexico. Savage officials expressed appreciation of the opportunity to build and operate a project at home in Utah.

“We’re excited to start the construction of the STR rail line and to safely and responsibly build and operate this new short-line railroad in Tooele County,” said Savage CEO Kirk Aubry. “It’s not often that we get to witness or participate in the birth of a new railroad, in Utah or anywhere. We appreciate the support of federal, state, and local officials, our customers and partners, and everyone involved with this project.”

Dan McLaughlin, assistant vice president of marketing and sales at Union Pacific Railroad, talked about the transportation doors that this 11-mile shortline will offer to Tooele County and the tenants of the Lakeview Business Park.

“Union Pacific is excited about our partnership with Savage and the opportunity to provide rail service to the Lakeview Business Park,” he said. “Our 32,000-mile network, with its nine international gateways to Canada and Mexico, will provide new opportunities for market growth and expansion for those that choose to develop new warehouses, facilities, and other businesses in the park.”

This isn’t Savage Companies’ first venture in Tooele County.

Savage started providing transloading—moving freight between trucks and rail—at a leased site in the Peterson Industrial Deport in April 2021. In June 2021, they invested in a 12-acre site of their own at the depot.