Maricopa, AZ
General information
Location19427 North John Wayne Parkway
Maricopa, Arizona
United States
Coordinates 33°03′23″N 112°02′51″W / 33.056353°N 112.047372°W / 33.056353; -112.047372
Owned byAmtrak and Pinal County
Line(s)UP Gila Subdivision
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus transport Amtrak Thruway to Tempe and Phoenix Airport
Construction
ParkingYes
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeAmtrak: MRC
History
Opened1996
Passengers
FY 202210,520[1] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Yuma
toward Los Angeles
 Sunset Limited Tucson
toward New Orleans
Texas Eagle Tucson
toward Chicago

Maricopa station is an Amtrak train station in Maricopa, Arizona, United States, serving Phoenix and central Arizona. The station accommodates travelers who use the combined Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle, which operates three times per week in each direction between Los Angeles and Chicago or New Orleans. Amtrak Thruway service (operated by Stagecoach Express) is available between Maricopa station, Tempe station and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

History

Maricopa station opened in 1996 after Amtrak was forced to withdraw from Phoenix Union Station due to deteriorated track conditions on the secondary Union Pacific Railroad line which diverged from the mainline to serve Phoenix.[2]

In 1999, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad dome car, "The Silver Horizon" that was previously used on the California Zephyr was moved to the site to be used as the station office.[3]

The old railcar would eventually prove unsuitable, and Amtrak moved the modular buildings that were previously used during the Tucson station remodeling to Maricopa. The historic dome car remained on the station site on static display.

On May 1, 2017, Amtrak started a new Amtrak Thruway shuttle service (operated by Stagecoach Express) connecting Maricopa station with Tempe station and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.[4]

Maricopa station has a very short platform (just over 110 feet (34 m) long) only slightly longer than each Superliner car used by Amtrak. This arrangement forces train crews to make as many as four separate stops in order to load and unload passengers from various sections of the train. Because the platform is located was close to Arizona State Route 347, traffic on the highway could be blocked for more than 15 minutes.[5]

The city of Maricopa and Union Pacific Railroad studied moving the station west onto a siding on city-owned property, but the cost was projected at $4.2 million, which the city was unwilling to pay.[6] The project was replaced with a plan to build a new overpass that would carry SR 347 over the railroad tracks. The $55 million project was funded with grants received from the federal government, as well as in part by the City of Maricopa, the Arizona Department of Transportation, and the Union Pacific Railroad.[7]

As part of the project, the dome car was moved from the station to a location 0.25-mile (0.40 km) down the Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway on January 10, 2019.[8]

Amtrak has suggested direct rail service could return to Phoenix by 2035.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2022: State of Arizona" (PDF). Amtrak. June 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  2. ↑ State of Arizona 2007 Railroad Inventory and Assessment: A final report to the Arizona Department of Transportation, p. 91 (accessed December 12, 2008)
  3. ↑ "A short history of our Maricopa station". Amtrak's Texas Eagle. February 25, 2012. Archived from the original on August 25, 2013. Retrieved September 17, 2006.
  4. ↑ "New Amtrak Thruway Shuttle Service in Maricopa, Ariz. Connecting Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle Passengers to Phoenix and Tempe". Amtrak (Press release). April 28, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  5. ↑ Howsare, Tim (June 5, 2012). "Cost of Amtrak rail siding estimated at $4.2M". InMaricopa.com. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  6. ↑ Howsare, Tim (May 2, 2012). "City to request $300,000 for Amtrak relocation". InMaricopa.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  7. ↑ Yankus, David (July 20, 2016). "Plan changes for Maricopa overpass". Casa Grande Dispatch.
  8. ↑ "Crews Move Historic Rail Car for Maricopa Overpass Project". Construction Equipment Guide. Associated Press. January 29, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Planned Amtrak service would connect Phoenix to California, Las Vegas". AZFamily. April 1, 2021. Archived from the original on April 1, 2021.

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