All Aboard? Talk about a commuter train between Tucson and Phoenix gains new life. February 20th, 2003
The impact of state population growth on transportation is forcing a new, regional perspective–especially for those who regularly make the dreary commute to Phoenix.While Interstate 10 construction gets worse, old ideas are resurfacing, particularly in the Phoenix-Tucson transportation corridor. It’s that stretch of highway where a commuter train was proposed along the Union Pacific tracks and then shelved on the count of sloth.
Now, the proposal’s back…
“There is a movement underway for a commuter rail as opposed to light rail in both the East and West (Phoenix) Valley,” says William Lindley, treasurer and past president of the Arizona Rail Passenger Association. Those commuter lines would connect Phoenix to such towns as Goodyear, Avendale, Buckey and others.
“Commuter rail is what you need to move people from the suburbs to the cities,” says Lindley. “But inter-city rail is also needed to move people over longer distances…”
Rest of the story in the Tucson Weekly
Grand Canyon Railway Express proposal February 12th, 2003
Digging out of congestion at the Canyon by Jon Talton, Arizona Republic. QUOTE: [The Grand Canyon Railway] “express rail proposal would operate modern trains every hour during peak season between Williams and the South Rim. Running time would be an hour and a half, 45 minutes faster than the current steam trains and easily competitive with drive-and-sit times.”
