Tempe station is a former train station in

Tempe, Arizona Tempe ( ; ''Oidbaḍ'' in O'odham language, O'odham) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2020 population of 180,587. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in t ...

. Previously,

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

's ''

Sunset Limited The ''Sunset Limited'' is a long-distance passenger train run by Amtrak, operating on a 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 thr ...

'' and ''

Texas Eagle The ''Texas Eagle'' is a long-distance passenger train operated daily by Amtrak on a 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, t ...

'' trains stopped at the station, but they were shifted to a more southerly route in June 1996. However, an

Amtrak Thruway Amtrak Thruway is a system of through-ticketed transportation services to connect passengers with areas not served by Amtrak trains. In most cases these are dedicated motorcoach routes, but can also be non-dedicated intercity bus services, transi ...

shuttle route connects the station to the

Maricopa station 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 ...

on the new routing.

History

The

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

built the depot in 1924. The city of Tempe purchased the building in 1987 and renovated it. The station was served by Amtrak's ''

'' and ''

'' 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 The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

line which diverged from the mainline to serve Phoenix and Tempe. Amtrak opened the

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

shuttle service (operated by Stagecoach Express) connecting Tempe station and

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is a civil-military public international airport east of downtown Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is Arizona's largest and busiest airport; among the largest commercial airports ...

to Maricopa station. In the early 2000s, the area saw the construction of several new rail lines. In 2008, the A Line of the

Valley Metro Rail Valley Metro Rail is a light rail system serving the Phoenix metropolitan area in Arizona, USA. The network, which is part of the Valley Metro public transit system, began operations on December 27, 2008. In , the system had a ridership of , ...

system 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. On May 20, 2022, the

Valley Metro Streetcar The Valley Metro Streetcar (S Line) known as the Tempe Streetcar during planning, is a Streetcars in North America, modern streetcar in Tempe, Arizona, operated by Valley Metro. The line serves downtown Tempe, Tempe Town Lake, and the Arizona ...

opened, 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. , 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.

References

External links

Former Tempe Southern Pacific & Amtrak Station (USA RailGuide – TrainWeb)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tempe, Arizona (Train Station)

Former Amtrak stations in Arizona Railway stations in the United States opened in 1924 Railway stations in the United States closed in 1996 1924 establishments in Arizona 1996 disestablishments in Arizona Transportation in Maricopa County, Arizona Former Southern Pacific Railroad stations Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona National Register of Historic Places in Maricopa County, Arizona

History

See also

References

External links