On February 8th, Amtrak will begin the fourth weekly Texas Eagle, with through service from Los Angeles to Chicago via Yuma, Tucson, and San Antonio. The inaugural train, which leaves Chicago on the 6th, will carry two “VIP sleepers” in addition to an already lengthened consist. Rail passenger supporters from throughout the Midwest have purchased much of the available space on this train.
ARPA members are encouraged to meet this train and the many rail advocates it will carry as it passes through Benson and Tucson the evening of the 8th, and through Yuma the following morning.
The fourth Eagle marks the first increase in intercity passenger rail frequency in Arizona since before the start of Amtrak in 1971. With the Grand Canyon Railway, the Verde Canyon, and the San Pedro & Southwestern carrying tourists within our State, upcoming extensions to the Old Pueblo Trolley in Tucson, the possibility of a fifth Eagle later this year, the prospects of Tucson-Phoenix high-speed rail, and ongoing studies of regional and light rail in metropolitan Phoenix, we are in the midst of a renaissance of Arizona Rail.
[The fourth frequency only lasted a year or two before being withdrawn. -- Ed.]
