Acknowledgements The State Rail Plan was made possible by the cooperative efforts of the following individuals and organizations who contributed significantly to the successful completion of the project: Rail Technical Advisory Team Maria Hyatt, City of Phoenix Chris Watson, Arizona Corporation Commission David Barry, Swift Transportation Reuben Teran, Arizona Game and Fish Cathy Norris, BNSF Railway Department Bonnie Allin, Tucson Airport Authority David Jacobs, Arizona State Historic Zoe Richmond, Union Pacific Railroad Preservation Office Jane Morris, City of Phoenix – Sky Harbor Gordon Taylor, Arizona State Land Department Airport Cathy Norris, BNSF Railway Patrick Loftus, TTX Company Angela Mogel, Bureau of Land Management Jack Tomasik, Central Arizona Association of ADOT Project Team Governments Paul Johnson, City of Yuma Sara Allred, Project Manager Jermaine Hannon, Federal Highway Kristen Keener Busby, Sustainability Program Administration Manager Katai Nakosha, Governor’s Office John Halikowski, Director James Chessum, Greater Yuma Port Authority John McGee, Executive Director for Planning Kevin Wallace, Maricopa Association of and Policy Governments Mike Normand, Director of Transit Programs Marc Pearsall, Maricopa Association of Shannon Scutari, Esq. Director, Rail & Governments Sustainability Services Gabe Thum, Pima Association of Governments Jennifer Toth, Director, Multi-Modal Planning Robert Bohannan, RH Bohannan & Associates Division Jay Smyth, Southwest Rail Corridor Coalition Robert Travis, State Railroad Liaison Zoe Richmond, Union Pacific Railroad Jim Zumpf, Assistant Director, Systems Planning Carol Ketcherside, Valley Metro Rail and Programming Serena Unrein, Arizona Public Interest Research Group Consultant Project Team Peggy Fiandaca, Partners for Strategic Action Freight and Rail Advisory Council Mike Kies, AECOM Project Manager John McNamara, AECOM Tim Strow, Maricopa Association of Jackie Pfeiffer, AECOM Governments Vijayant Rajvanshi, AECOM Tim Terkelsen, Arizona Common Sense Ethan Rauch, AECOM Dave Mansheim, Bard Date Company A special thank you to all of the Metropolitan Planning Organizations and Council of Governments who helped organize and host the Focus Group Meetings. The project team also appreciates everyone who took time from their busy schedules to participate in the Focus Group discussions, and provided comments on the draft documents throughout the development of this plan. i FOREWORD The Arizona State Rail Plan is one piece of a larger multimodal planning framework for the State of Arizona. This document presents a series of issues and opportunities relative to the future of rail development in Arizona, including a series of implementation directions and a discussion on funding options. The technical work to support this document can be found in the Statewide Rail Framework Study, part of a broader 40-year multimodal transportation vision for Arizona. This planning process has spanned the last three years, included intense interagency and public involvement efforts, and was recently accepted by the State Transportation Board as part of the Statewide Transportation Planning Framework Program. Additional information and technical reports can be found at: http://www.bqaz.gov0H0H0H ii Table of Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Purpose of the Arizona Rail Plan ..................................................................................... 2 1.2 History of Railroads in Arizona ........................................................................................ 2 2.0 Arizona Rail Vision, Goals and Objectives ............................................................................... 4 2.1 A Vision of Rail Transportation in 2030 ........................................................................... 4 2.2 Goals and Objectives ...................................................................................................... 4 2.3 Benefits of Rail for Arizona ............................................................................................. 6 2.3.1 Congestion Mitigation........................................................................................ 6 2.3.2 Economic Benefit ............................................................................................... 7 2.3.3 Air Quality.......................................................................................................... 8 2.3.4 Land Use ............................................................................................................ 8 2.3.5 Sustainability ..................................................................................................... 9 2.3.6 Energy Consumption .......................................................................................... 9 2.4 Existing and Potential Rail Traffic .................................................................................. 10 2.4.1 Commodity Flows ............................................................................................ 10 2.4.2 Freight Demand (2030 & 2050) ........................................................................ 11 2.4.3 Passenger Demand .......................................................................................... 14 2.5 Positive Train Control ................................................................................................... 18 2.6 Purpose and Background of the State Rail Plan ............................................................. 19 2.7 Compliance with United States Code, Section 22102 .................................................... 20 2.8 Updates to this Rail Plan ............................................................................................... 20 3.0 ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES ................................................................................................ 21 3.1 Passenger Rail System Issues and Opportunities ........................................................... 21 3.1.1 Intercity Passenger Rail System ........................................................................ 23 3.1.2 Southwest U.S. High-Speed Rail Network (HSR) ................................................ 31 3.1.3 Commuter Rail ................................................................................................. 34 3.1.4 Tourist Railroads .............................................................................................. 36 3.2 Rail System Network Issues and Opportunities ............................................................. 38 3.2.1 Transcontinental Rail Congestion ..................................................................... 38 3.2.2 Freight Rail Distribution Systems ...................................................................... 40 3.2.3 Intermodal and Freight Logistic Centers ........................................................... 44 3.2.4 Class I Branch Lines and Short Line Railroads .................................................... 47 iii 3.2.5 Rail Corridor Preservation ................................................................................ 51 3.2.6 New Railroad System Development ................................................................. 53 3.3 Safety and Congestion Mitigation Issues and Opportunities.......................................... 57 3.3.1 Public Rail Grade Crossing Improvements ........................................................ 57 3.3.2 Wildlife Corridors ............................................................................................. 60 4.0 PROPOSED RAIL PROJECTS .................................................................................................... 66 4.1 Recommended Actions ................................................................................................. 66 4.2 Arizona Spine Corridor.................................................................................................. 68 4.2.1 Inventory of Existing Conditions ....................................................................... 69 4.2.2 Corridor Strategy ............................................................................................. 74 4.2.3 Passenger Rail Opportunities for the Arizona Spine .......................................... 75 4.2.4 Freight Network Opportunities for the Arizona Spine ....................................... 80 4.2.5 Recommended Actions for the Arizona Spine Corridor ..................................... 82 4.2.6 Implementation ............................................................................................... 84 4.3 CANAMEX Corridor....................................................................................................... 86 4.3.1 Inventory of Existing Conditions ....................................................................... 88 4.3.2 Corridor Strategy ............................................................................................. 89 4.3.3 Recommended Rail Actions for the Canamex Corridor ..................................... 95 4.3.4 Implementation ............................................................................................... 97 4.4 Route 66 Corridor ....................................................................................................... 101 4.4.1 Inventory of Existing Conditions ..................................................................... 102 4.4.2 Corridor Strategy