“Tucson to Phoenix will happen,” said Flagstaff Councilman Jim McCarthy.
South Central Arizona could get a long-sought passenger rail connection between Tucson and Phoenix, restoring Amtrak service to the capital city in the next few years.
Plus, Arizona passenger rail advocates and Amtrak officials have broached the idea of a passenger-rail corridor linking Flagstaff, Phoenix and Tucson. It would provide alternative transportation between Flagstaff and the state’s largest cities, cut traffic on two heavily congested interstates, and could restore a passenger rail route to Prescott that ceased operating more than 60 years ago.
“Tucson to Phoenix will happen,” said Flagstaff Councilman Jim McCarthy. “We’ve been talking about that for 10 years. That’s where we are with Flagstaff to wherever. There is some potential for some passenger rail, but I don’t see that happening right away.”
Currently, Amtrak’s Southwest Chief travels 2,256 miles between Chicago and Los Angeles in at least 31 hours, with Arizona stops in Winslow, Flagstaff and Kingman. The most likely route linking Northern Arizona to Phoenix would follow a former passenger rail connection at Ash Fork south to Prescott, Wickenburg and Phoenix.
All Aboard Arizona, a non-profit group dedicated to improving Arizona passenger rail, is pushing hard for the Tucson-Phoenix route. It also backs extending passenger rail north to connect with the Southwest Chief, according to its President Todd Liebman.
“The (Phoenix to Ash Fork) route does have potential,” he said, noting it’s still an active freight line. “It would require looking at that route and seeing if the existing alignment is the way to go, which is obviously the most cost-effective.”
A passenger-rail route following Interstate 17 from Phoenix to Flagstaff is unlikely.
“I don’t think the geography is conducive to rail traffic,” said McCarthy, a retired aerospace engineer. “It’s just too steep.”
Phoenix to Prescott passenger service was discontinued in 1962 when the Peavine route tracks were realigned north of Prescott at Chino Valley, veering southwest to Skull Valley. The northbound Hassayampa Flyer followed the realigned tracks past Prescott to Ash Fork and on to Williams Junction. Santa Fe Railroad discontinued that passenger route in 1969, said Marc Pearsall, Amtrak director of network development in the West.
“We have not heard anything about rail service returning to Prescott,” said John Heiney, City of Prescott community outreach manager.
Amtrak leaders have expressed interest in a passenger route linking Flagstaff to South Central Arizona.
In a 2021 interview with Slate magazine, then Amtrak Chairman William Flynn mentioned the potential of new Amtrak routes. “Think about the corridors in Arizona between Phoenix and Tucson and Flagstaff,” Flynn said.
The Tucson to Phoenix connection is the most immediate for additional passenger rail in Arizona. The train would include stops at Marana, Coolidge, Queen Creek, Tempe, Sky Harbor International Airport, downtown Phoenix, Goodyear and Buckeye.
In December, the Federal Railroad Administration awarded a $500,000 grant to the Arizona Department of Transportation to develop a Phoenix to Tucson service plan. The state had already committed $3.5 million for planning Tucson-Phoenix rail service.
Also in December, the federal government announced $8 billion in funding for high-speed rail and new rail corridors. It’s part of the $66 billion for passenger rail Congress approved in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
In Arizona, funding to explore additional routes linking Flagstaff to Phoenix would require ADOT support, according to Amtrak.
New passenger routes in Arizona are only possible if the state is willing to subsidize service, according to Jon Talton, a former Arizona Republic business columnist who writes for The Seattle Times.
Washington, Oregon and California all have more robust passenger rail than Arizona because those states are subsidizing routes, said Talton, a fourth generation Arizonan and historian.
The cost of upgrading the tracks can run into hundreds of millions of dollars, he added.
Flagstaff Councilman McCarthy, a longtime Amtrak rider, said there are far more government subsidies for airports and highways than for passenger rail.
“I get a kick out of these people in Congress that want to get rid of Amtrak,” he said. “I see how much money the federal government pumps into our airport.”
Meanwhile, Flagstaff is Amtrak’s busiest Arizona train station. Ridership topped 35,000 in Fiscal Year 2023, up 38% from the previous year. But that still trails the Southwest Chief ridership of 43,453 in 2019, before the pandemic.
Nationally, Amtrak experienced a 24% jump in ridership in fiscal year 2023.
Tucson ridership was 25,695, up 34%. Amtrak served 10,812 passengers in Kingman and 3,309 riders in Winslow.
A casual observer might be unaware that two Amtrak passenger trains pass through Flagstaff every day. That’s because the eastbound Southwest Chief is scheduled to stop in Flagstaff at 4:31 a.m. and the westbound train is scheduled to stop in town at 8:51 p.m. QCBN
By Peter Corbett, QCBN
Photo by Peter Corbett: Amtrak travelers on the Southwest Chief can watch the scenery go by from Chicago to Los Angeles in the observation car.
