In late 2020 the new CEO of Amtrak released his vision of Amtrak into the future including new routes. Some of the routes, like the Phoenix Metro area, are a reestablishment of former routes.
Phoenix Metro has not had an Amtrak route since the late 1990’s. In February 2023, Mary Davis of Caliber Group came to the WeSERV offices in Peoria to describe the Amtrak plan as proposed. The event was in person and live streamed over Zoom to WeSERV members.
We were fortunate to have many members in attendance and with that came several questions as to cost for the project, ticket prices to the consumer, and impacts on freight.
One key point many members were concerned about in pre-event questions and in event questions were relative to impacts on freight and cargo trains. We have seen freight carriers create longer trains and with supply chain issues still a problem for business and the building industry, the question of Amtrak traffic having priority over freight opened up several questions.
At this time it is too early in the process for Amtrak to answer questions surrounding freight. Mary spent a lot of time answering other questions and providing slides to illustrate the Amtrak plan as proposed.
Now is the time for WeSERV members to become informed on the proposal, provide input to local government officials, and to discuss with their clients the impacts of the proposed Amtrak on personal, business, and commercial train service.