Background

The last train to run between Phoenix and Tucson was the long-distance Sunset Limited. In June 1996 the train was rerouted 30 mi (48 km) south of Phoenix to Maricopa, leaving the Arizona state capital as the largest city in the United States to lack direct inter-city rail service. Tucson remains served by the Sunset Limited just three times per week.

Proposal

In 2011, the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) began a Passenger Rail Corridor Study for the Phoenix–Tucson route.^[2] They published the Tier 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement in September 2015^[3] and the final Record or Decision in December 2016.^[4]

In spring 2021, Amtrak included the Buckeye–Phoenix–Tucson route in its 15-year "Amtrak Connects US" expansion vision.^[5] In July 2021, Amtrak President Stephen Gardner and CEO Bill Flynn formally announced plans for the service.^[6] The proposal calls for three round trips per day with a one-way trip time of 2 hours 25 minutes. Intermediate stops are listed as Goodyear-Avondale, Downtown Phoenix, Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, Tempe, Queen Creek, Coolidge, and Marana. The option is given for future expansion west to Los Angeles.^[1]

In June 2023, Amtrak and ADOT submitted the Phoenix–Tucson project to the FRA's Corridor Identification and Development Program. The program provides money for planning studies and prioritizes routes for future federal funding.^[7] The corridor was accepted into the program in December 2023 and ADOT was granted $500,000. ADOT had already acquired $3.5 million in state funds to go toward the planning phase.^[8]

In February 2024, Republican legislators drafted a bill blocking the progress of the train service between Phoenix and Tucson, and presented it to the senate. The bill threatens to remove all funding from ADOT if it accepts any public money for the construction of the train line.^[9][10]