A move is on to build a new rail service for the 113 miles between Tucson and Phoenix.
In a joint letter, Tucson Mayor Regina Romero and Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego are asking Arizona’s congressional delegation to lend support to starting up the service that would be run by the rail transport company Amtrak.
The two leaders have been joined in their communication by the mayors of Avondale, Chandler, Glendale, Goodyear, Marana, Mesa, Oro Valley, South Tucson, and Sahuarita.
The mayors are specifically supporting Amtrak’s Corridor Development Program, which is designed to foster the planning, development, and building of new passenger routes throughout the country.
In their letter, the mayors contend: “Frequent and reliable passenger rail service will expand economic opportunities and provide important regional connections between our cities and towns.”
Amtrak has suggested providing a service that would see three trips a day between the two Arizona cities, with stops along the way. The service could also eventually link Tucson to Los Angeles.
If ultimately approved by the federal government, the service would see the construction of not only new rail infrastructure, but new stations of varying sizes in Avondale, Buckeye, Coolidge, and Marana, among other locations.
Amtrak has issued an initiative called its “2035 Vision” suggesting new rail service routes throughout the Midwest, the growing states of Georgia and Florida, as well as Colorado’s Front Range.
Funding to expand Amtrak’s service corridor is folded into President Biden’s infrastructure bill and has a price tag of around $66 billion. An earlier study conducted by the Arizona Department of Transportation estimated that it would cost around $5 billion to build the Phoenix-Tucson link.
By Garry Boulard
