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Interesting that it says Brightline was rejected in favor of Amtrak to run the service.
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I think it was a random poster on Reddit that stated that, they were happy it was not Brightline. Arizona is not even on Brightline’s short list for expansion. The only reason they picked LA to Las Vegas was the land was cheap and available compared to other picks. I think LA to Las Vegas was a mistake and they could have done better but probably not better for cheaper.
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I have traveled to Tucson nearly every spring since 1987 for a week of cycling. It is a great city. The Tucson to Phoenix corridor is an example of where passenger trains make sense.
This is what I am confused about. If they make Tucson to Phoenix a separate rail corridor…then OK I get it.
However, on the Southern Rail Commission Conference Call, Arun Rao of Amtrak specifically stated, they are studying rerouting the Sunset Limited via Phoenix. I don’t see how that is possible because West of Phoenix the line is abandoned I thought. The key phrase though was “studying”. So maybe I am not understanding what was being done there. Maybe this is a conduct the study and scoop up the money without any real intention of actually doing the follow-on work. Kind of like a “No Show” construction job on that old TV series “The Sopranos”. 
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“All in the game, yo. All in the game.” -Omar Little
I think the line W of Phoenix is out of service, but still intact. Here is a Google StreetView of a highway crossing about in the middle of the line:
Note: The power line and transformer for the signals are disconnected. Did power company take the transformer or did scrappers take it?
Possibly correct but there is still the issue of condition of track and the former issue which led to being taken out of service. The railroad could not control the local turd burglars from tampering with the rail line. This caused the Amtrak Sunset Limited to derail I believe on that portion of the line which I also believe led to the line closure. From what I understand before the line closure, Amtrak had the line primarily to itself and there was not the frequency of trains for adequate security to protect the sole passenger train.
I do think if they reactivate the line, restore it to 90 mph and make decent time on it. Though I think that is a pipe dream with high expense and limited returns. Kind of like my dream to live to see reactivation of the former SDA&E to San Diego and run San Diego to Phoenix passenger trains.
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