UP railroad double track work continues, switch yard on hold

Work on Union Pacific Railroad’s double track effort through Arizona from El Paso to Los Angeles is continuing, with most of the track being laid in Pinal County. However, the railroad’s plans for a larger switch yard near Picacho Peak are now on hold. Zoe Richmond, Union Pacific’s public affairs director for Arizona, said the bulk of the double tracking work for the project would be done in Arizona. “This project began in 2005 with the intent of laying a double track from El Paso to Los Angeles,” Richmond said. “We started in the Los Angeles area and moved east and also from El Paso and moved west, but in 2010 we stopped the project because of the economy.” Richmond said double tracking construction resumed in Arizona last year with track being laid in Pinal County. “We expect to be in the Tucson area by the end of this year and will do sections of double track as customer demand allows us to add infrastructure,” Richmond said. While Union Pacific doesn’t have a finish date yet for the project, Richmond pointed out that even with 65 percent of the project’s double track laid, “we have seen great efficiencies using some sections of the second track all through New Mexico and California and in parts of Arizona.”

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