TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Maybe you just finished a tough drive home. Now there’s more movement in an effort to save you from making one of the tougher drives in Arizona: I-10 between Tucson and Phoenix.
ADOT is working with close to 40 local governments to get passenger rail on track for regular trips between Tucson and Maricopa County.
A lot of planning still has to happen before we know when regular passenger service will roll, or if it will roll at all.
But there are plenty of people ready to take a seat on a train—and it’s not just people nostalgic for the way passenger trains were in their prime.
Adam Lieu is a U of A student. He learned to love the convenience of trains at home in Washington State and would love to see trains as a transportation option here.
“Being able to connect between Tucson and Phoenix would be huge, because we have a hard time getting between them with traffic. There's a lot of events that students can go to for networking opportunities for our jobs afterwards, sporting events.”
Other students think a train sounds better than the shuttle vans that run from Tucson to Phoenix now.
Daryl Ijaola says, “There's a rail that you see on the way from Phoenix to here, and always feels like I wish I could just ride that rail instead of being in Groome Transportation or being in a bus. I think I definitely prefer that.”
Daniel Casey says, “Bus tickets are pretty cheap but I will be willing to spend a bit more money on a train if I get the comfort that comes with a train, just some arm room and leg room and not an overcrowded bus, and a working rest room.”
ADOT has a half million dollars in Federal grants for this stage of the rail planning. Preliminary plans call for the passenger trains to make three trips per day.
