In 2011, the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) began a Passenger Rail Corridor Study for the Phoenix–Tucson route.

[2] They published the Tier 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement in September 2015[3] and the final Record or Decision in December 2016.

[5] In July 2021, Amtrak President Stephen Gardner and CEO Bill Flynn formally announced plans for the service.

[8] In February 2024, Republican legislators drafted a bill blocking the progress of the train service between Phoenix and Tucson, and presented it to the senate.

The bill threatens to remove all funding from ADOT if it accepts any public money for the construction of the train line.