Apparently UP’s secondary line thru Phoenix is back to being an alternate route for the Sunset line. Back in the 90s SP/UP ended all service W of the Palo Verde nuke plant, which also ended Amtrak service to PHX. But in the last few days, there have been LONG empty auto rack trains heading East over the line, pulled by a pair of six-axle GEs. As there are no auto facilities on the UP W of Phoenix, these have had to come from the West Coast.
Do you think this is simply to relieve the congestion on the Sunset Route?
We normally go to Phoenix for spring break…gonna pass this year. It sure is a great place at the end of March.
ed
I don’t think the line has been reopened. They had been using the line to store excess railcars, demand for autoracks must be picking up, or they decided that maybe it was a good place to store them.