Tempe, AZ | |||||||||||||||
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General information | |||||||||||||||
Location | 3rd Street and Ash Avenue Tempe, Arizona United States | ||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 33°25′40″N111°56′37″W / 33.4278°N 111.9435°W | ||||||||||||||
Owned by | City of Tempe | ||||||||||||||
Line(s) | UP Phoenix Subdivision | ||||||||||||||
Connections | |||||||||||||||
Other information | |||||||||||||||
Station code | Amtrak: TEM | ||||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||||
Opened | 1924 | ||||||||||||||
Closed | June 3, 1996 | ||||||||||||||
Rebuilt | 1987 | ||||||||||||||
Former services | |||||||||||||||
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Tempe station is a former train station in Tempe, Arizona. Previously, Amtrak's Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle trains stopped at the station, but they were shifted to a more southerly route in June 1996. However, an Amtrak Thruway shuttle route connects the station to the Maricopa station on the new routing.
The Southern Pacific Railroad built the depot in 1924. [1]
The city of Tempe purchased the building in 1987 and renovated it. The station was served by Amtrak's Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle from 1987 until June 3, 1996, when Amtrak was forced to re-route the trains due to deteriorated track conditions on the secondary Union Pacific Railroad line which diverged from the mainline to serve Phoenix and Tempe. Amtrak opened the Maricopa station to serve Phoenix, Tempe and the greater Central Arizona area. After Amtrak left the station, Macayo's Depot Cantina, a Mexican restaurant, was built on the site, but the historic train depot was untouched.
On May 1, 2017, Amtrak started a new Amtrak Thruway shuttle service (operated by Stagecoach Express) connecting Tempe station and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to Maricopa station. [2]
In the early 2000s, the area saw the construction of several new rail lines. In 2008, the Valley Metro Rail line opened with light rail trains running parallel to the Union Pacific tracks, and curving east onto 3rd Avenue just north of the historic train depot. In Spring 2022, the Tempe Streetcar is expected to open, with southbound cars passing right by the station site.
In January 2021, the city of Tempe approved a plan to redevelop the station site into a mixed-use development, which also will preserve and restore the train depot on the site. The development will include two towers: a 17-story office tower and a 18-story Hilton-branded hotel tower. The two towers will connect with a bridge over the light rail tracks. [1]
As of 2023 [update] , Amtrak is planning to restore train service to Tempe on a route between Phoenix and Tucson. The exact station location has yet to be determined. [3]
Maricopa is a city in the Gila River Valley in Pinal County, Arizona, United States. With 66,290 residents as of 2022, Maricopa is the largest incorporated municipality in Pinal County.
The Texas Eagle is a long-distance passenger train operated daily by Amtrak on a 1,306-mile (2,102 km) route between Chicago, Illinois, and San Antonio, Texas, with major stops in St. Louis, Little Rock, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Austin. Three days per week, the train joins the Sunset Limited in San Antonio and continues to Los Angeles via El Paso and Tucson. The combined 2,728-mile (4,390 km) route is the longest in the United States and the second-longest in the Americas, after the Canadian.
The Phoenix metropolitan area, also known as the Valley of the Sun, the Salt River Valley, metro Phoenix, or The Valley, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the Southwestern United States, with its largest principal city being the city of Phoenix. It includes much of central Arizona. The United States Office of Management and Budget designates the area as the Phoenix–Mesa–Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), defining it as Maricopa and Pinal counties. It anchors the Arizona Sun Corridor megaregion along with the second-most populous metropolitan area in the state, the Tucson metropolitan area. The gross domestic product of the Phoenix metropolitan area was $362 billion in 2022, 14th highest amongst metro areas in the United States.
The Sunset Limited is a long-distance passenger train run by Amtrak, operating on a 1,995-mile (3,211 km) route between New Orleans and Los Angeles. Major stops include Houston, San Antonio and El Paso in Texas, as well as Tucson, Arizona. Opening in 1894 through the Southern Pacific Railroad, Sunset Limited is the oldest continuously operating named train in the United States.
The Alvarado Transportation Center (ATC) is a multimodal transit hub located at 100 1st Street SW in Downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico. The complex was built as a hub for Albuquerque's regional transit system and as a replacement for Albuquerque's previous bus depot and train station. The center serves ABQ RIDE, Amtrak, Greyhound Lines, and the New Mexico Rail Runner Express commuter rail line.
Phoenix Union Station is a former train station at 401 South 4th Avenue in downtown Phoenix, Arizona, United States. From 1971 to 1996 it was an Amtrak station. Until 1971, it was a railroad stop for the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific Railroads. Union Station was served by Amtrak's Los Angeles–New Orleans Sunset Limited and Los Angeles–Chicago Texas Eagle. The station is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Tucson station is an Amtrak train depot in Tucson, Arizona, served three times a week by the combined Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle train.
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 is available between Maricopa station, Tempe station and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
Yuma station is an Amtrak station at 281 South Gila Street in Yuma, Arizona, United States. Passenger rail service is provided thrice-weekly in each direction by the Sunset Limited and the Texas Eagle over this portion of its route. The station's island platform, which is adjacent to the station building site, are accessible through a short pedestrian tunnel.
Flagstaff station is an Amtrak train station at 1 East Route 66 in Flagstaff, Arizona. The station, formerly an Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway depot, doubles as a visitor center and rental-car pickup and is located in downtown Flagstaff. Northern Arizona University is located nearby, as are the Lowell Observatory, Sunset Crater, the Walnut Canyon National Monument, ski resorts and other attractions. It is also the closest Amtrak station to Grand Canyon National Park.
Pomona–Downtown station, is a train station in Pomona, California, United States. It is primarily served by Metrolink’s Riverside Line commuter rail service. The station is also served by limited Amtrak long-distance inter-city rail service, with the thrice-weekly round trip of the combined Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle. It is owned and operated by the city of Pomona.
The transportation system of Arizona comprises car, rail, air, bus, and bicycle transport.
Transportation in Phoenix, Arizona is primarily via private cars. Public transport is run under the brand Valley Metro, and consists of buses, light rail, and a streetcar system.
The Sunset Route is a main line of the Union Pacific Railroad running between Southern California and New Orleans, Louisiana.
Coolidge station was a train station in Coolidge, Arizona, served by Amtrak's Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle trains. Amtrak service to this station was discontinued in June 1996 when trains were rerouted to Maricopa.
There have been various proposals to bring commuter rail service to the Phoenix metropolitan area since at least the 1980s. A 2008 government plan, updated in 2018, proposes four lines running at 30-minute headways during peak hours and 2-hour headways during off-peak hours.
Sacate is a populated place in the Middle Gila River Valley area, within Pinal County, Arizona, United States. Located 8 mi (13 km) north of Maricopa on the south side of the Gila River near Pima Butte, Sacate was an Pima village, a railroad station of the Southern Pacific Railroad, and a Catholic mission. It had originally been called Sacaton Station but the name was shortened to its current version in 1904.
The Phoenix Subdivision is a railroad line in the U.S. state of Arizona owned by the Union Pacific Railroad. The southeast end of the line connects to the Gila Subdivision near Eloy, runs northeast to Phoenix, and becomes the Roll Industrial Lead, running southwest before reconnecting to the Gila Subdivision at Wellton. As of 2010, eighty miles (130 km) of the line between Roll and Arlington are out of service and used for car storage.
The Phoenix–Tucson passenger rail is a planned inter-city passenger train service to be operated by Amtrak in the Arizona Sun Corridor between Phoenix and Tucson, the two most populous cities in Arizona. As proposed, the train would run from Buckeye to Tucson with major stops in Downtown Phoenix, Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, and Tempe.
Media related to Tempe (Amtrak station) at Wikimedia Commons