ADOT narrows choices for Phoenix-Tucson rail route

State transportation officials are recommending a route for a passenger-rail corridor between Phoenix and Tucson that would follow existing Union Pacific rail lines east of Casa Grande.

Arizona Department of Transportation officials issued their recommendation in a newly released environmental-impact study.

Transportation officials are floating two alternate proposals: a route that would drift even farther east, and a no-build proposal. Officials have scheduled three public hearings this month for state residents to hear directly from transportation planners and to submit comments.

Key questions remain unanswered:

How would a multimillion-dollar rail line be funded?

When would it be built?

What type of train would it use?

The recommended rail route, which has been designated the Yellow Alignment, would be the shortest and cheapest.

It would extend from downtown Phoenix through Tempe and Queen Creek, head south near State Route 87 to Eloy, then southeast along Interstate 10 to Tucson. The alignment would be built entirely along Union Pacific's right-of-way corridors, but would require new track.

The Yellow Alignment would travel 120 miles and is projected to cost between $4.2 billion and $5.1 billion to build.

The alternate route, designated the Orange Alignment, would extend east from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, then south roughly along State Route 87, and southeast along I-10 to Tucson.

That alignment would stretch to 132 miles and is projected to cost between $6.8 billion and $8.4 billion.

Planners eliminated a third alternative, the Green Alignment, which would have followed I-10, largely because of right-of-way issues through the Gila River Reservation, said ADOT spokeswoman Laura Douglas.

The Yellow and Orange alignments run east of the reservation.

Casa Grande City Manager Jim Thompson said state transportation officials should give the Green Alignment additional consideration.

"Our position always have been, and will continue to be, that we believe that it's in the best interest of the state to take it up there through a natural corridor that already exists for transportation, which is I-10," Thompson said.

Additional land wouldn't be required if tracks were placed between I-10's northbound and southbound lanes, he said.

Plus, Casa Grande, which has an expanding manufacturing and distribution business sector, already serves as a transportation hub, he said. I-10 and I-8 split near the city, and most proposals for a future Las Vegas-to-Nogales interstate freeway run through Casa Grande.

The final rail option, a no-build alternative, would keep travelers solely on freeways.

The purpose of the proposed passenger-rail line is to provide high-capacity, intercity transit service in a region where opportunities for highway expansion are limited, according to ADOT.

Both the Yellow and Orange lines eventually could have spurs to the northwest and southwest suburbs of Phoenix and to Tucson International Airport south of downtown Tucson.

While a train design has yet to be selected, a consensus is emerging, Douglas said.

"A lot of people throw around the term 'bullet train.' It would be more of a higher-speed train," she said.

Higher-speed passenger trains typically clock in at 80 mph to 125 mph. Bullet trains, like those in Europe and elsewhere, generally travel faster.

The environmental-impact study took roughly four years and $6.4 million to complete, Douglas said. It narrowed the search from 150 possible routes to nine, then three, then two. ADOT covered $1.8 million of the cost while federal agencies covered the rest.

The next step would be a more detailed environmental-impact study that would identify specific rail alignments and placements of two major hubs and 11 stations along the route. The projected cost and timeline for such a study have yet to be identified, Douglas said.

ADOT's schedule for public hearings on the rail proposal:

Sept. 15, 5:30 to 7 p.m. — Burton Barr Public Library, Pulliam Auditorium, 1221 N. Central Ave., Phoenix.

Sept. 16, 5:30 to 7 p.m. — Tucson Convention Center, Leo Rich Theater, 260 S. Church Ave., Tucson.

Sept. 17, 5:30 to 7 p.m. — Central Arizona College, Signal Peak Campus Room M101, 8470 N. Overfield Road, Coolidge.