160-mile Phoenix to Tucson passenger rail project will move forward

Plans to build a passenger rail line between Phoenix and Tucson are picking up steam. The Arizona Department of Transportation is moving into the next phase of a federally backed development program.

The Federal Railroad Administration recently approved ADOT’s budget and scope for developing a Service Development Plan — a major step in a multi-year process.

That plan will determine station locations, forecast ridership, and lay out the infrastructure needed to make the 160-mile corridor a reality. But Steve Elliot, a spokesperson for ADOT, said the department is not in charge of making the final funding decision.

Arizona Department of Transportation

“We’re not in a position of being confident or not confident. Our job is to come up with a proposal for passenger rail that policymakers can review and make those decisions," he said.

Completing the plan could make Arizona more competitive for future federal funding — but the project still has a long way to go.

The planning phase is expected to take up to three years. After that, ADOT will still need to secure additional funding for construction.

Elliot said expanding transportation options could have major economic benefits.

“You expand the ability of people to get around, to connect people to their jobs, people to their shopping," he said. "Adding this to the transportation mix, necessarily, would be a boost to the economy.”