Tucson-To-Phoenix Rail Proposal Won’t Cost Taxpayers Billions

TUCSON, AZ — There are all kinds of reasons you might not want to make the two-hour trip from Tucson to Phoenix — traffic jams that can be predicted with near certainty and sudden dust storms that can’t are just a couple of them. A nonprofit group called All Aboard Arizona has an idea to connect the two cities by rail that doesn’t involve spending billions of taxpayer dollars.

Instead, the group is trying to persuade Amtrak to increase its Sunset Limited service, which currently runs three days a week between Tucson and Phoenix, to daily service, as well as return Amtrak Sunset Limited service to Phoenix and Tempe.

All Aboard Arizona member Ken Karrels told the Arizona Daily Star that connecting the cities by train would take a lot of vehicles off the road, which would be far better for the environment. Adding lanes to the interstate highway isn’t enough, he said.

An Amtrak spokesman told the newspaper that because the two cities are less than 700 miles apart, the state will have to sign off on increased Tucson-to-Phoenix service under the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008. (Get Tucson Patch’s real-time news alerts and free morning newsletters. Like us on Facebook. Also, download the free Patch iPhone app or free Patch Android app.)

There are other hurdles, including negotiations with Union Pacific, which owns the tracks between the two cities. More passenger traffic could disrupt freight service, and it’s not clear how much the railroad would charge Amtrak to use the tracks.

Another issue would be the cost to repair the tracks between Maricopa and west Phoenix so they could handle the increased volume of traffic for another 20-plus years.

» For the full report, go to the Arizona Daily Star

Photo by Shutterstock / Liz Kcer