2011 Arizona State Rail Plan - Arizona Department of Transportation

Arizona State Rail Plan
return to Phoenix have ranged from $150 million to $300
million, depending on the travel speed desired.
3.1.2 Southwest U.S. High-Speed Rail
Network (HSR)
Opportunity Statement
An HSR network in the southwestern U.S. will improve
regional connectivity and provide modal choices to
travelers. An HSR system in the Southwest can help
individuals and business travelers avoid congestion on
the roadways and delays in air travel.
Potential Actions:
9 Receive federal HSR designation of corridors
in Arizona.
9 Complete feasibility and route studies to
establish a Southwestern HSR network.
9 Work with local and regional entities to
update long-range plans that coordinate local
and regional rail and transit planning, and
land use and transit oriented development
(TOD) with existing and proposed passenger
rail networks to create more livable and
sustainable communities.
Background
Four potential HSR corridors between Arizona and
bordering states have been identified. These corridors
are envisioned to link Phoenix-Tucson with Los Angeles,
Las Vegas, San Diego, and Albuquerque, or the Front
Range Megapolitan. These cities are within the 300- to
600-mile range in which HSR is competitive with other
transportation modes such as highway and air travel.
Such a network would provide significant public benefits,
especially increased mobility via a more sustainable
transportation mode.
As a travel mode, HSR can be competitive with short-haul
flights in time, cost, and on-time performance. Weather
delays are not as significant for rail and can provide direct
access to central business districts and other economic
activity centers. Daily travel between airports in the
Los Angeles Basin and Phoenix Sky Harbor International
Airport currently exceeds 110 weekday departures.
Interstate highway travel between the two metropolitan
areas is also significant. Therefore, rationale exists for an
HSR connection between Los Angeles and Phoenix, two
of the largest metropolitan areas in the Southwest.
Congress has designated a series of HSR corridors across
the U.S. that will serve as the foundation for a nationwide
HSR system, as illustrated in Figure 11. Several southwest
U.S. corridors are illustrated, mostly in California,
however, FRA has designated additional corridors over
what is shown on this map.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
(ARRA) made an $8 billion initial investment in HSR,
helping jump-start activities in the federally-designated
corridors. However, a portion of ARRA funds were
also available for planning of non-federally-designated
intercity rail (ICR) corridors. This State Rail Plan sets a
precedent for rail planning in Arizona and will better
position Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) to
acquire future federal funding tied to HSR/ICR planning.
California High-Speed Rail opportunities translate to
Arizona. (Photo courtesy of CHSRA)
32 Arizona State Rail Plan
March 2011