Arizona Rail Passenger Association

1. GAO Report – High Speed Passenger Rail (PDF)
2. FRA High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) Program Notice of funding availability, Application Guidelines (PDF)

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 of Grand Avenue and Bell Road. The 3.27-acre lot is near the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and will be used for a 500-space park-and-ride facility… [initially express buses] to downtown Phoenix and Scottsdale. But city officials also see securing the property as a “good positioning exercise” if a commuter railway does come in within the next 5 to 10 years, said Randy Overmyer, city senior transportation planner.

Grand Avenue and Bell Road is a heavily traveled intersection that could be a possible commuter-rail stop, according to a Maricopa Association of Governments feasibility study slated to come out by year’s end…

Rest of the story at: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/05/29/20090529parkandride0529.html

(Regarding current discussions of Phoenix-Tucson regional rail)

Adopted by the Board of Directors, 2009-1-17.

RESOLVED THAT,

ARPA believes

• That the current UPRR alignment via Coolidge represents the most expeditious route to early implementation, and should be implemented and built first; and
• That the former Maricopa to Tempe alignment, to supplement future growth, should additionally be planned, but built after operations on the Coolidge alignment commence.

A proposal for commuter rail service that would carry passengers between downtown Phoenix and Wickenburg is picking up steam.

The Maricopa Association of Governments Executive Committee this week hired URS to come up with detailed options to implement commuter service along the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway line on the Grand Avenue corridor. The firm, which is based in San Francisco and has an office in Phoenix, also will look at such components as cost and potential ridership…

Rest of the story in the Arizona Republic

…Although Metro’s passenger service isn’t set to begin until late December, earlier this week the rail line through Tempe into Mesa saw its first train. It was a test run, one of many scheduled over the coming months…Hallman, while touting light rail as part of an integrated transportation system, took the opportunity to voice support for commuter rail.

Commuter rail is a transit alternative that would be part of a $42 billion transportation ballot initiative that may go before Arizona voters in November…

Rest of the story in the East Valley Tribune