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12192016827500ANTHONY TRIFILETTIEXECUTIVE DIRECTORPO Box 1423Scottsdale AZ 85252-1423-16757657429500CELL: 602.748.6461 HYPERLINK "mailto:executivedirector@" executivedirector@7 January 2020 SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1REPORT TO RPA ROUTE AND SERVICES COMMITTEE...what do you feel the current condition of the tracks between Wellton and Picacho (via Phoenix) would allow in running time? Could they make the 1996 schedule? Could they improve on the 1996 schedule?Let’s first break this into two pieces: Picacho Junction to Buckeye, and Buckeye to Wellton.The tracks between Picacho Junction and Buckeye host 6 freight trains per day. The line was in poor shape, but Union Pacific performed enough maintenance to handle those trains at 40 to 50 miles per hour over much of the line. With the closure of the West Line out of Phoenix, UP performs its sorting in Tucson and back-feeds freight bound for Phoenix area customers and interchange with BNSF via Picacho Junction. There would have to be significant track improvements to fulfill the 1996 schedule.The tracks between Buckeye and Wellton are another matter entirely. The line was taken out of service in 1996 after the terrorist incident that sent the Sunset Limited skittering off the rails, killing people. UP almost sold the line to the state of Arizona; however, the plan was to sell a “dirt road” to the state after UP had recovered rail, ties, ballast and signaling. The deal fell through when UP’s real estate division discovered that the railroad was collecting rentals on fiber optic cables buried along the line. As part of the sale process, abandonment of the line would have caused reversionary rights to kick in, thus permitting property owners along the line to cash in on the rentals. Even though the West Line was not hosting trains, the cash derived from cable rentals made the line profitable!After being taken out of service, souvenir hunters stripped out large amounts of signaling and other parts of the line’s physical plant. The question became: What would it cost for UP to bring the line back into service?In the middle of 2018, All Aboard Arizona almost succeeded in bringing Florida’s Brightline into the region to discuss Los Angeles-Phoenix-Tucson service. We arranged 3 meetings with 47 stakeholders to discuss the proposed operation. However, two days before Brightline and Fortress Investment Group were to send corporate officers to Phoenix for meetings and a tour of the line, they pulled out, opting instead for the Las Vegas-Victorville project.One of the 47 stakeholders was Union Pacific. A meeting with the local UP business representative gave us the figure for restoration of the West Line: $500 million. The price tag includes $350 million to restore ballast, ties, rail and signaling; the remaining $150 million is to install Positive Train Control. Arizona’s state government lacks the money, political will and constitutional authority for such a project, and Congress would have to give Amtrak a significant boost in appropriations to make this possible.Bottom line: Without significant money, it’s not going to happen. If money were to become available, then it would be safe to discuss fulfillment or improvement of the 1996 schedule.They chose the intermediate stops of Coolidge and Tempe (as well as Yuma, Phoenix, Tucson and Benson). Would your organization choose each of these stops today? As you know, Amtrak substituted Tempe for Mesa. Would you reverse that move or have the train stop at both locations? Or considering the time of day that the train could be stopping at those locations, eliminating each?Let’s start with each possible station.Phoenix Union StationSprint, which occupied the building for years, ran out of room and plans to move to a new site in the West Valley. The station could once again be used. But there’s a catch.Union Station is on the wrong (west) side of Central Avenue. The area is populated by parking lots, decrepit buildings and homeless people. All development is east of Central. Chase Stadium, just east of Central, will soon lose the Diamondbacks, who like the Cardinals, have opted to move to the West Valley. There is discussion of razing the stadium to replace it with high-density residential and commercial development. It would be nice to dismantle Union Station and move it to that location, but the building is on the National Registry of Historic Buildings, which makes this impossible.There are two possible solutions: a new station east of Central Avenue, or reopening Union Station. There is always the possibility that with reopening, developers will remove the parking lots and old buildings and set about developing that neighborhood. Stranger things have happened.Phoenix Sky Harbor AirportA stop here is mandatory. The UP line, Valley Metro Rail (our local light rail system) and the airport’s Skytrain all meet at 44th and Washington Streets. All Aboard Arizona proposes “Arizona Station,” a transit-oriented development project at this site on vacant land by the airport.TempeThe former station now hosts a successful Mexican restaurant. With Valley Metro Rail serving this site, a stop here is not necessary.Mesa Gateway AirportThis airport, once an Air Force base, now handles more passengers than Tucson International Airport. The UP line passes close to the airport, and there needs to be a stop here.CoolidgeOnce a dying town, new factories are opening, and new housing is being built for the first time in decades. The mayor has already found the site for the new Coolidge station, and the town is excited at the possibility of again being served by rail.EloyThis town died when Interstate 10 bypassed it and US 80 was decommissioned. Its only industry is a private prison. But Eloy wants to come back, and local government has purchased land for a park-and-ride lot adjacent to the UP Picacho Peak-Phoenix line. A stop should at least be considered for this town.Phoenix to Yuma is 174 miles without any intermediate stops. Buckeye appears to be largest community between those two cities. Would you add any stops between Phoenix and Yuma?No. It’s just desert.Your organization is advocating upgrading of the Phoenix West Subdivision. Part of this would be to add frequent commuter service into Phoenix from the west. How would the upgrades you are promoting affect the running times of the Sunset? In fact, have you a proposed schedule for the Sunset if it was rerouted?The Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) was supposed to go to the voters in November 2020 to raise the county sales tax for transportation purposes. The Policy Committee was to propose a package that could consist of more freeways, more light rail lines, bus rapid transit and commuter rail. The vote was moved to 2022 and now to 2024. There are issues with MAG’s political leadership.The plan for commuter rail would be: (1) to use the UP line from Buckeye through Phoenix to Queen Creek; and (2) to use the BNSF Peavine Division from Wittmann to Phoenix and then run on the UP Kyrene Division to Chandler.At this point, no one really knows if commuter rail will ever happen. If it does, I would anticipate no effect on the Sunset Limited, of course assuming that the West Line could be reopened for that $500 million.Obviously, it has been a long-time goal of your organization to have lots of additional daily trains between Tucson and Phoenix. One of those trains would be a daily Sunset.For the possibility of a daily Sunset Limited, I refer you to a document written by George Chilson. It’s too big for me to attach to an e-mail, but George has a way of giving people the opportunity to download it. The document is worthy of an MBA dissertation and lays out how a daily Sunset would be possible today with current equipment. I suggest you contact George.Running a shorter-distance train the other four days a week to LA from either Tucson, Tempe or Phoenix.There have been new developments on that front. In July 2019 Amtrak’s government relations people came to Yuma, Phoenix and Tucson to discuss new intercity service with the mayors of those cities. Amtrak asked them to write to Richard Anderson to request 1 round trip per day between Los Angeles and Tucson via Phoenix and 3 round trips per day between Phoenix and Tucson. The conversation in Tucson went like this.Tucson: Have you talked to Union Pacific about your plans to use its lines?Amtrak: No.Are you aware of the $500 million price that UP will charge for bringing the West Line back into service?We’ve heard something about it.Have you spoken to anyone at the Arizona Department of Transportation about this?No.Have you spoken to anyone at the governor’s office about this?No.What do we get in return for these letters to Mr. Anderson?Amtrak will commission a 4- to 5-year feasibility study to be done by a consulting firm. If the study looks good, we’ll approach the state governments of California and Arizona to initiate and support the service.Are you aware that while California has a legal means of supporting rail service, Arizona lacks the constitutional authority to do so?No.My take: It’s just more “jobs for the boys.” Amtrak isn’t serious, and this is just a way to keep consultants occupied on government largesse.Separating the Texas Eagle from the Sunset and running the Eagle west of San Antonio on 3 days other than the three the Sunset runs. This would give the train six days a week in each direction (never on a Monday?) between Los Angeles and San Antonio.That’s not a bad suggestion in lieu of a daily Sunset.Running a daily train originating in both Los Angeles and Phoenix early in the morning and running during daylight hours to its terminus. This Gila River Express would be in addition to the existing tri-weekly Sunset.See Amtrak’s proposal mentioned above.Running a daily train originating in both Los Angeles and Phoenix early enough to be daylight running its entire length as a companion train to a daily Sunset.See above.Could a daily train originating in Tucson to Los Angeles be able to run strictly in daylight hours as a companion train to the Sunset?Yes, on the current route through Maricopa. Maybe, on the route through Phoenix.Naturally cost is a factor as well equipment both of which are in short supply. If you have figures for any of these please include. On the other hand, if your studies have ridership projections that you can share, we would appreciate knowing of them.I’ve given you the $500 million figure from Union Pacific.The only ridership figures available would be from ADOT’s high-speed rail study, available on its website, for a proposed Japanese-style high-speed line between Phoenix and Tucson, projected to cost $6 billion, which is a lowball figure.Tony TrifilettiExecutive DirectorAll Aboard ArizonaCell: 602-748-6461 ................
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