Arizona Rail Passenger Association

The Distance Traveled is 20 Miles; the Time Traveled is 100 Years

Clarkdale, AZ – Verde Canyon Railroad’s  historic train takes passengers on a 20-mile journey through a remarkable wilderness area of Arizona but the time traveled is actually 100 years.

Join the Railroad in celebrating the birth of their line 100 years ago — and the Statehood of Arizona — on Saturday, February 11 and Sunday, February 12, 2012. The Centennial Celebration, 9am to 1pm, is free to the public. The Centennial train departs at a special time of 2pm on those days, and requires a ticket purchase.

The Verde Canyon Railroad is proud to have carried over one million passengers since their first departure in 1990. Call 1-800-293-7245 or book online at verdecanyonrr.com.

(source: press release)

Union Pacific’s Centennial Steam Train will visit New Mexico and Arizona in recognition of the states’ 100th anniversary of admission into the Union.

This includes a display on Sunday, 13 November 2011. Come on down to the station for a little memorabilia, and think on what Union Station will be again whenever we can get a train an hour to Tucson, and five daily trains to Los Angeles…

NOTE: The Phoenix display says  “631 South 7th” but it’s not clear if that is 7th Street or 7th Avenue (1 mile apart) … the train will NOT be at Union Station. Stay tuned for more details.

The full schedule, from the U.P. Press Release:

A good article in the Daily Wildcat: State examines a rail alternative to the [sic] I-10:

The possibility of riding the rails between Phoenix and Tucson was raised during an Arizona Department of Transportation open house on the UA Mall on Friday.

Although the process for an intercity rail system is in the preliminary research stage, the idea of having a faster means of transportation between Tucson and Phoenix has been around for several decades. The first study was completed in 1980, according to Michael Kies, assistant director of planning and programming for the Department of Transportation. The plan wasn’t adopted until March earlier this year.

Rest of the story

Open house to review Tempe Streetcar track and stop locations

METRO and the city of Tempe invite you to attend an open house to review and comment on stop locations and street configurations for the 2.6-mile Tempe Streetcar project being developed for the Mill Avenue corridor. The meeting will be conducted in an open house format to individually talk with community members about their interests. A formal presentation will not be given, so please stop by at any time throughout the evening.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011
6 – 8 p.m. open house
Tempe High School, Cafeteria
1730 S. Mill Ave., Tempe

For additional information or to make reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities, please contact Carla Kahn at 602-744-5552/TTY 602-251-2039 or ckahn@metrolightrail.org.

Additional project information is available on the METRO website at www.metrolightrail.org/tempestreetcar

At a time when transit advocates in Fort Worth and other areas of North Texas are struggling to pay for and build new rail lines, officials in Denton County have managed to get the A-train up and running quickly — and without federal funding.

On the first day of revenue service, commuters will be able to catch trains at any of five Denton County stations for a ride to Trinity Mills in Carrollton. There, they can transfer to the Dallas Area Rapid Transit light-rail system and connect to the extensive Dallas-area transit network…

Full story at: A-train commuter line is set for its first run between Denton and Carrollton, in the Star-Telegram, 11 June 2011.