Phoenix Service -- Options

May 27, 1998

Mr. Lee Bullock, President
Amtrak Intercity

Dear Mr. Bullock:

Enclosed is a copy of my response to George Warrington's letter to us of April 16th.

Our Association is eager to open a dialog with you concerning possible scenarios for restoration of Amtrak service to Phoenix. It seems to us that the economic benefits of such service justify the investment. Possible Phoenix options include:

Reopening Union Pacific's Phoenix line for use by Sunset/Eagle route trains.
Operating a Phoenix/Tucson section of the Southwest Chief over the BNSF branch from Williams Junction.
Operating Tucson-Phoenix-California service via the Arizona and California Railroad and the BNSF.

We look forward to discussing the pros and cons of these and other options with you at your earliest convenience as we realize that a commitment to Phoenix is needed to rebuild a political constituency for Amtrak in Arizona.

Thank you for your consideration.

Yours sincerely,

Robert H. Bohannan,
President

CC: Lee Bullock
Gil Mallery

Also...

25 October 1998: According to the recently released December 1998 TRAINS magazine, Amtrak has a new Postal Service contract to haul mail between Chicago and Phoenix. Apparently the mail is being hauled in trucks south of Winslow, where a long "express" stop is scheduled. (There is triple-track at the Winslow station; the Flagstaff station, which is closer to Interstate 17, lacks a passing track or siding.)