Much is being made of finally returning Amtrak to Phoenix. Alas, it's a long shot. A reminder: Phoenix, the nation's fifth most populous city, is the largest city in North America without intercity passenger trains. Okay, a second reminder: Once multiple trains served Union Station on the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe railroads for decades, then Amtrak until 1994.
The reason Amtrak stopped service to Phoenix was because the state — the Republican-controlled Legislature and later disgraced GOP Gov. Fife Symington — refused to help the Southern Pacific bring the western portion of the Northern Main Line (from Arlington to Wellton) up to trackage standards to accommodate Amtrak trains.
The present situation is aspirational at best. It consists of a $500,000 grant, as the Arizona Republic reported, "to begin planning for a passenger rail corridor that links Amtrak’s existing line, which runs through Tucson, to the Phoenix metro area."
