Phoenix Subdivision (BNSF Railway)

For the similarly named Union Pacific line, see Phoenix Subdivision (Union Pacific Railroad).
Phoenix Subdivision
BNSF SD40-2 No. 1673 (fmr BN) Sitting In Mobest Yard in Phoenix, AZ
Overview
OwnerBNSF Railway
LocaleArizona
Termini
Connecting lines
Websitehttps://www.bnsf.com/
Service
TypeInter-city rail
Freight rail
Operator(s)BNSF Railway
History
Commenced1892
Completed1895
Technical
Track length194 mi (312 km)
Number of tracks1
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Operating speed49 mph (79 km/h)
Route map
Map
Phoenix Subdivision (BNSF)
Legend
Seligman Subdivision enlarge…
0
 Williams Junction
Southwest Chief
(closed
2018)
Grand Canyon Railroad enlarge…
3.4
 Williams Depot
(reroute 1960)
Johnson Tunnel
14.7
 Ash Fork
to Seligman Subdivision (reroute 1961)
Clarkdale Arizona Central Railroad
Drake Switching Company
36
 Drake
(reroute c. 1960)
 Prescott
80.9
 Skull Valley
87.1
 Kirkland
101.8
 Hillsdale
110
 Date
123.5
 Congress
Arizona and California Railroad enlarge…
139.9
 Wickenburg
150.6
 Castle Hot Springs
Logistics Park Phoenix (planned)
173.6
Ennis Lead
174.1
BNSF Automotive Distribution Center
177
 Marinette
180.2
 Peoria
183.7
Glendale Yards
184.5
 Glendale
186.8
BNSF Intermodal Facility
188.3
Alhambra Yard
191.6
Mobest Yard
UP Phoenix Subdivision enlarge…
193.7
Phoenix Yard (UP)
Spur line to landfills
194
 Phoenix
Sunset Limited
(closed
1996)
UP Phoenix Subdivision enlarge…

The Phoenix Subdivision is a railroad line in the U.S. state of Arizona owned by the BNSF Railway. It runs from Phoenix in the south to Williams Junction in the north where it connects to the Seligman Subdivision and Southern Transcon.[1] As of 2018 about eight trains daily operate over the line with top speeds of up to 49 miles per hour (79 km/h).[2] The line is part of a system of proposed commuter rail lines in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

The line from Williams to Ash fork was initially laid out by the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, though much of this section was reconstructed by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (predecessor to BNSF) in 1960 to bypass several sharp curves and steep gradients.[3][4] South of Ash Fork the route largely follows the original Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railway, except for segments around Prescott which were similarly bypassed in the 1960s.

  1. ^ BNSF Network Map (PDF) (Map). BNSF. June 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 10, 2023.
  2. ^ 2018 Regional Commuter Rail System Study Update (PDF), Maricopa Association of Governments, May 2018, p. 2-20, archived from the original (PDF) on May 18, 2023
  3. ^ Transcontinental Railroading In Arizona 1878–1940 (PDF) (Report). Janus Associates Incorporated. December 1989. p. 25. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 26, 2023. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  4. ^ Trimble, Marshall (2008). Ash Fork. Arcadia Publishing. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-7385-4832-6.