Arizona Rail Passenger Association

NOTE: There will be a moderate charge for lunch, but the meeting itself is free.

We invite you to attend the annual southern Arizona ARPA mem­bership meeting in the upstairs meeting room of Maynards Market & Kitchen in the historic Tucson train depot, 400 North Toole Avenue in Tucson on Saturday, October 31, 2009.

The ARPA Board of Directors will meet at 10 AM, which you are welcome to attend. The program will start at 12:30. Gene Caywood will give Old Pueblo Trolley’s outlook on the future now that streetcars are running into downtown Tucson for the first time since 1930. ARPA President Rob Bohannan will tell us of the opening of the highly successful Phoenix light rail transit line. Jay Smyth, Chair of the Southwest Rail Corridor Coalition, will fill us in on current prospects for high speed trains in Arizona.

There will be a moderate charge for lunch, which will be served at 12 noon. After the meeting, you may visit the Southern Arizona Transportation Museum and enjoy a free ride on Old Pueblo Trolley’s streetcar through the new 4^th Avenue underpass.

RSVP to azrail@azrail.org or the ARPA line at 480.947.5710 …

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 “Buy American” requirements, could capture a fair percentage of orders from the dozens of cities across the country considering streetcar service.

Story from Oregon Public Broadcasting: http://news.opb.org/article/5078-tucson-orders-seven-streetcars-oregon-company/

(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.

Come hear an update on light rail, commuter rail, and intercity rail — and ride Tucson’s Old Pueblo Trolley! We will be meeting at the downtown Marriott; lunch will be provided. A nominal fee will cover your meal; or you may attend the meeting for free.

RSVP 480.947.5710 — NOTE: Date may change; check back to confirm.

by Glen Creno in The Arizona Republic, Feb. 29, 2008

Plans for passenger rail in Arizona are moving forward, but significant hurdles remain before any system is built.

The Maricopa Association of Governments has released a long-awaited draft of its commuter-rail study, which outlines three options that would haul commuters from Phoenix suburbs into job centers in the central city. At the same time, key players in developing high-speed rail between Phoenix and Tucson have joined together to seek money to plan a system…

Rest of the story in the Arizona Republic