ADOT Calls Executive Leadership Team for Proposed Rail Corridor
Written by Jennifer McLawhorn, Managing Editor
Courtesy of ADOT
PHOENIX - The Arizona Department of Transportation has announced an Executive Leadership Team to guide the study the future of passenger rail service between Phoenix and Tucson.
This Team consist of the Governor’s Office, the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG), Pima Association of Governments (PAG), Sun Corridor Metropolitan Planning Organization, and ADOT and the metropolitan planning organizations in Pinal, Pima, and Maricopa counties. This team will make sure that planning for future passenger rail service aligns with “regional priorities.”
Governor Katie Hobbs stated, “Investing in passenger rail between Phoenix and Tucson holds enormous promise for economic growth and employment, and would mean more transportation options for more Arizonanas. . . Regional collaboration is critical to advancing this effort, and having key partners at the table will help us move full speed ahead as we continue to study this project’s potential.”
The ADOT would create a Service Development Plan that will:
- “Identify the number and location of stations along the route based on travel demand, technical feasibility, local support and considerations, such as access to critical facilities like airports and universities;
- “Locate needed infrastructure improvements such as additional track or maintenance facilities that will support the operation of the service; and
- “Forecast ridership and revenues, determine service operations (such as number of trips and travel time), estimate capital and maintenance costs, and recommend a phased implementation for the service.”
As part of a $500,000 federal grant, the ADOT submitted a proposed scope, budget, and schedule as it prepares the Service Development Plan. ADOT reports the FRA will review the submission before it determines any federal funding (with a 10% state match). This is the first step in the project’s process. Approval is anticipated in spring 2025.
The second step, project planning, involves the ADOT’s preparing of the Service Development Plan and is expected to take two to three years to develop, pending approval from the FRA. This is expected to begin in the middle of 2025.
Currently, the proposed rail corridor from Phoenix to Tucson would extend 160 miles between Tucson and Buckeye with anticipated daily round trips.
ADOT Director Jennifer Toth said the ADOT is “excited to work with our partners to study the potential of connecting Phoenix and Tucson by rail. . . Both rural and urban areas can benefit, along with historically underserved communities.”
The third step of the process, project development, is based on the FRA’s approval. The ADOT will then “conduct preliminary engineering and an environmental analysis on the proposed Phoenix to Tucson capital project for intercity passenger rail service.”
