[Sekkle]

Here's a similar article from today's Republic focusing on commuter rail.

Governor pursues plan for commuter-rail lines
Target for Tucson, Phoenix link: 2012

Sean Holstege
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 20, 2007 12:00 AM


Arizona is moving to play a major role in bringing commuter rail to the Valley and between Phoenix and Tucson.

The Arizona Department of Transportation is days away from asking bidders to plan a passenger rail line connecting Phoenix and Tucson by Centennial Day, Feb. 14, 2012.

This comes after Gov. Janet Napolitano gave ADOT 90 days to list the best potential rail projects and detail the best ways to pay for them. advertisement




The arrival of commuter rail in Arizona is not a guarantee because some lawmakers oppose rail, saying it isn't worth the subsidy. But involvement by the state increases the chance that it could become a reality. The state's role was a deciding factor in bringing commuter rail to Utah and New Mexico.

"The governor clearly believes that we have to explore these options and implement some," said Jeanine L'Ecuyer, Napolitano's spokeswoman. "She wants wide-open thinking on this subject. She's serious about these executive orders. She expects results and does not want these studies to be a book on the shelf."

Jim Dickey, ADOT Public Transit Division director, said no option is off the table. His team will be looking at a wide range of rail projects, from new or expedited local light-rail extensions around Phoenix to longer and faster commuter-rail lines to the West Valley and southeast Valley and a Phoenix-Tucson train. Other potential projects are connecting a people-mover system at Sky Harbor International Airport to conventional rail lines and local tracks in and around Tucson or Flagstaff.

What is less clear is what role the state would play in making any of these services happen. ADOT and the governor's staff are coy on the subject.

Options include:


• Advancing state funds to engineer a rail network.


• Using surplus state money or other funds as a down payment on construction or to acquire rights-of-way.


• Passing laws to create a statewide or multicounty rail agency.


• Passing laws to streamline design and construction bidding to speed up existing or future rail projects.


• Putting a statewide bond on the ballot, probably for over $1 billion, to build a system.


State's involvement?
"Everybody seems to be concluding that a major state role in Arizona will be necessary," said Kathryn Pett, an attorney who has been informally advising Napolitano's office and ADOT for about a year.

Pett, of the Phoenix-based firm Snell and Wilmer, brokered right-of-way and track-sharing deals in Utah and New Mexico between public agencies and rail-freight companies. Pett said involvement by the governors in those states was instrumental in persuading rail companies to negotiate seriously.

Any moves by ADOT or the governor will draw scrutiny, however.

"Passenger rail is a big loser," said Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Ron Gould, a Lake Havasu City Republican. Arguing that fares don't cover costs and that rail doesn't take enough people off freeways, Gould said, "For me, rail is a non-starter."

Senate Majority Whip John Huppenthal, R-Chandler, said traffic congestion is deteriorating so badly that he wouldn't "be against anything," adding, "We need a new vision. The question is whether our leaders are up to it."


Long-overdue link
Rail advocate and freshman state Rep. Steve Farley, D-Tucson, said connecting his city and Phoenix by rail should have happened 10 years ago.

"I haven't heard anybody of any political party or ideology who's opposed to this," Farley said. "It's real because everybody wants it so badly."

Commuter rail, which employs larger trains and fewer stops than light rail, would mean leasing tracks or rights-of-way from rail-freight companies.

In Arizona, the freight giants are Union Pacific and Burlington Northern and Santa Fe railroads.

Union Pacific officials said they have told the governor's staff in informal talks that starting passenger service in Arizona will be unusually challenging. Unlike other Western states, there is much less redundant track here.

A Burlington Northern spokeswoman said the company has not had talks with Arizona officials but is open to them.

ADOT is due to release a study by the end of the month detailing the amount, condition and capacity of existing freight lines.

The Maricopa Association of Governments just launched a $300,000, year-long study to determine the demand for commuter service around Phoenix and how best to link it to urban light-rail track now under construction.