from the June, 1998 ARPA UPDATE
On April 19th, the Arizona Republic reported,
"Gil Mallery, president of Amtrak West, was in town Saturday morning
[4/18/98] to brainstorm possibilities with [ARPA]... He said Amtrak is
interested in exploring corridor travel - such as between the Valley and Los
Angeles, the Valley and Tucson, and the Valley and San Diego - as well as local
commuter travel…"
While Amtrak Intercity will continue to provide the Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle and Southwest Chief services, Amtrak West now may begin to investigate corridor options within Arizona and between Arizona and California.
Mr. Mallery, who was in Phoenix accompanying the Diamondbacks Express train, seemed optomistic about such prospects, also noting that Talgo trainsets for the Los Angeles - Las Vegas service will be available this Fall. ARPA hopes to work with Amtrak West on an exhibit of the equipment here.
NOTE: The special train, drawn from the San Diegan service, ran from Los Angeles via Cadiz, Parker, and Wickenburg - not across the Phoenix West Line.