http://www.azrail.org Let's Get Arizona On Track To The Future Sat, 24 Dec 2011 14:21:44 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 http://www.azrail.org/2011/dallas-to-inaugurate-new-regional-rail-line-this-saturday/ http://www.azrail.org/2011/dallas-to-inaugurate-new-regional-rail-line-this-saturday/#comments Mon, 13 Jun 2011 15:40:48 +0000 wlindley http://www.azrail.org/?p=799 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 [...]]]> http://www.azrail.org/2011/dallas-to-inaugurate-new-regional-rail-line-this-saturday/feed/ 0 http://www.azrail.org/2011/arpa-on-the-2011-state-rail-plan/ http://www.azrail.org/2011/arpa-on-the-2011-state-rail-plan/#comments Thu, 17 Mar 2011 20:41:53 +0000 wlindley http://www.azrail.org/?p=780 State Transportation Board c/o Arizona Department of Transportation 206 South 17th Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85007 RE: Arizona State Rail Plan Dear State Transportation Board Members: The Arizona Rail Passenger Association fully supports ADOT’s plan to improve the infrastructure of our state, and we respectfully request your support of the State Rail Plan. ARPA educates the public — from individuals to civic groups [...]]]> http://www.azrail.org/2011/arpa-on-the-2011-state-rail-plan/feed/ 0 http://www.azrail.org/2011/dallas-tests-battery-power-streetcar/ http://www.azrail.org/2011/dallas-tests-battery-power-streetcar/#comments Tue, 15 Mar 2011 18:26:24 +0000 wlindley http://www.azrail.org/?p=777 DALLAS, 8 March 2011 — One of the streetcars being considered by the City of Dallas took a test drive on DART Rail tracks March 8, transporting DART officials and news media between Akard, Victory and Baylor University Medical Center stations. The ameriTRAMâ„¢ prototype is manufactured by Kinkisharyo, the maker of DART’s [...]]]> http://www.azrail.org/2011/dallas-tests-battery-power-streetcar/feed/ 0 http://www.azrail.org/2010/metro-ridership-up-buses-down/ http://www.azrail.org/2010/metro-ridership-up-buses-down/#comments Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:19:53 +0000 wlindley http://www.azrail.org/?p=729 A year after bus use followed gasoline prices to record highs, ridership has fallen by the millions on the Valley’s most extensive mode of public transit… While bus ridership was down, more and more commuters climbed aboard light-rail trains in Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa, sending ridership numbers above 12 million for fiscal [...]]]> http://www.azrail.org/2010/metro-ridership-up-buses-down/feed/ 0 http://www.azrail.org/2010/phoenix-unveils-design-of-sky-train-cars-for-sky-harbor/ http://www.azrail.org/2010/phoenix-unveils-design-of-sky-train-cars-for-sky-harbor/#comments Thu, 27 May 2010 13:07:28 +0000 wlindley http://www.azrail.org/?p=690 by Jahna Berry – May. 26, 2010 The Arizona Republic Phoenix revealed the design of the train cars that will transport millions of passengers around Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Under a $260 million contract with a Canadian firm, Bombardier Transportation Holdings USA, Bombardier will design and build 18 train cars and a maintenance facility… Each car is 36.5 feet [...]]]> http://www.azrail.org/2010/phoenix-unveils-design-of-sky-train-cars-for-sky-harbor/feed/ 0 http://www.azrail.org/2010/mesa-to-expand-metro-extend-its-downtown/ http://www.azrail.org/2010/mesa-to-expand-metro-extend-its-downtown/#comments Wed, 19 May 2010 15:19:11 +0000 wlindley http://www.azrail.org/?p=639 From the East Valley Tribune: Mesa has struggled for years to make its mile-long downtown vibrant, but a new light rail segment is triggering calls to extend the city’s urban core by several miles. Key city officials say they want to expand the downtown-style streetscape at least two miles to the west, where [...]]]> http://www.azrail.org/2010/mesa-to-expand-metro-extend-its-downtown/feed/ 0 http://www.azrail.org/2010/arizona-planners-envision-new-role-routes-for-light-rail/ http://www.azrail.org/2010/arizona-planners-envision-new-role-routes-for-light-rail/#comments Thu, 15 Apr 2010 12:33:24 +0000 wlindley http://www.azrail.org/?p=634 Full story by Sean Holstege in the Arizona Republic, 14 April 2010 Changing demographics, ridership patterns point to different lines in future Regional planners are mapping new light-rail lines in places that were inconceivable a few years ago, as they grapple with how urban Arizona takes shape in the coming half-century. Preliminary studies show that sufficient demand will [...]]]> http://www.azrail.org/2010/arizona-planners-envision-new-role-routes-for-light-rail/feed/ 0 http://www.azrail.org/2009/commuter-rail-system-envisioned-for-valley/ http://www.azrail.org/2009/commuter-rail-system-envisioned-for-valley/#comments Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:46:16 +0000 wlindley http://www.azrail.org/?p=595 Enough people would board a train in the Valley’s suburbs that a future commuter-rail system would be as popular as some of the busiest lines in the West, new studies have found. A trio of yearlong rail studies, in nearly final form, indicates commuter rail could carry almost 18,000 passengers a day by 2030. Planners at [...]]]> http://www.azrail.org/2009/commuter-rail-system-envisioned-for-valley/feed/ 0 http://www.azrail.org/2009/surprise-buys-land-for-a-park-and-ride-lot/ http://www.azrail.org/2009/surprise-buys-land-for-a-park-and-ride-lot/#comments Fri, 29 May 2009 10:20:37 +0000 wlindley http://www.azrail.org/?p=546 Lily Leung reports in May 29, 2009′s Arizona Republic – Surprise’s strategic placement of a park-and-ride lot near a railway stretching from downtown Phoenix to Wickenburg is the first heartbeat in an ongoing effort to bring commuter-rail service to the Valley… The Surprise City Council on Thursday voted unanimously to pay… for land on the southeastern corner [...]]]> http://www.azrail.org/2009/surprise-buys-land-for-a-park-and-ride-lot/feed/ 0 http://www.azrail.org/2009/tucson-orders-modern-streetcars/ http://www.azrail.org/2009/tucson-orders-modern-streetcars/#comments Thu, 28 May 2009 10:23:19 +0000 wlindley http://www.azrail.org/?p=548 The City of Tucson in late May ordered seven modern streetcars from Oregon Iron Works (www.oriron.com), the first American company in sixty years to manufacture one. The company, in Clackamas, Oregon, has received orders both from Portland and now Tucson. The company, founded in 1944, builds bridges and military patrol craft; and especially because of [...]]]> http://www.azrail.org/2009/tucson-orders-modern-streetcars/feed/ 0