Valley Metro Rail & Streetcar is a light rail and streetcar system serving the Valley of the sun Metroplex in Arizona, United States. The network, part of the Valley Metro system, comprises three lines: the east–west A Line between Phoenix and Mesa; the north–south B Line entirely within Phoenix; and the S Line streetcar in Tempe. The light rail lines have 54 total stations, while the streetcar serves 14 stations. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .
The light rail system is primarily at-grade with an exclusive lane and some elevated sections, while the streetcar portions are in shared traffic. The first section was funded by a 2000 sales tax across Maricopa County and opened on December 27, 2008, with 32 stations in Phoenix and Mesa. Valley Metro Rail & Streetcar has been expanded seven times since the first section opened, with projects ranging from a single infill station to eight stations on the South Central Extension in 2025. The S Line in Tempe opened in 2022 and uses a separate rolling stock from the rest of the system. Extensions of the system, made possible by Prop 104 and funded by Prop 479, include an extension of the S Line into Mesa planned to open this decade, and a new line into West Phoenix is planned to open in 2037 while other projects are in planning or suspended.
Lines In Valley Metro terminology, common with most other metro systems, a line is a named service, defined by a route and set of stations served by trains on that route. Line nameStations Termini Type Western/Northern Eastern/Southern A Line 26 Downtown Phoenix Hub Gilbert Road/Main Street Light rail B Line 29 Metro Parkway Baseline/Central Avenue S Line 14 Marina Heights/Rio Salado Parkway Dorsey/Apache Boulevard Streetcar
History
Background Numerous plans preceded the implementation of light rail. The Phoenix Street Railway provided streetcar service from 1887 to 1948. Historic vehicles may be seen at the Phoenix Trolley Museum, with Car #116 celebrating her 80th birthday on December 25, 2008, just days before the opening of modern rail service. In 1989, the ValTrans elevated rail proposal was turned down by voters in a referendum due to cost and feasibility concerns. Subsequent initiatives during the 1990s failed over similar reasons.
Valley Metro was created by the Transit 2000 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), also called the Transit 2000 plan, which involved a half-cent sales tax, and was approved by Phoenix voters in 2000. Transit 2000 aimed at improving the local bus service (considered unacceptably inadequate compared to other major US cities) and adding new bus rapid transit routes. It used the route placing and color designations from the 1989 ValTrans plan. The plan also called for a new light rail line to be built throughout the Phoenix metropolitan area, resuming rail transit service that was absent since the 1940s. Additional funding for the new rail line was secured in 2004 when residents approved Proposition 400, extending the half-cent countywide sales tax.
Initial segment Construction on the new light rail line began in March 2005. The expected construction cost for the line was $1.4 billion, or $70 million per mile (equivalent to $ or $ per mile in dollars). The line's initial segment consisted of 28 stations running between Phoenix and Mesa. In March 2008, cracks in the system's rails were discovered. The cause of the cracks was determined to be improper use of plasma cutting torches by contractors. The affected track was repaired by May for $600,000 with no statement on which parties would be held financially responsible. The last of the concrete and rail for the system was installed in the end of April, with the CEO declaring the system to be on time and on budget.
The line opened at 9:10a.m. on December 27, 2008, with official ribbon-cutting ceremonies and community celebrations throughout Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa. The opening day had 90,000 passenger trips, with some riders waiting as long as 2.5 hours to ride the trains. The stations were designed to complement their immediate surroundings. Station platform areas are approximately wide by long.
As of early 2014, income had exceeded Metro's stated goal with 44.6% farebox recovery, partially due to the light rail ridership far exceeding original projections.
The light rail has also led to rapid urban development in downtown Phoenix and Tempe, generating additional revenue through taxes.
Valley Metro had its busiest month in April 2017, with a total passenger count of 1,514,456 and an average weekday ridership of 52,910. On the weekend of March 31, 2017, through April 2, 2017, the light rail system saw 275,615 passengers board the train due to several large events including Final Four Fan Fest, March Madness Music Festival, Arizona Diamondbacks home opener, Phoenix Pride Festival, Phoenix Suns game, and Tempe Festival of the Arts. That Sunday, April 2, 2017, they saw 80,210 passengers board the train due to those large events.
Segment descriptionDate openedStanding line(s)on segmentEndpointsNumber ofnew stationsLength(miles)Construction costCentral Phoenix/East Valley Light Rail LineDecember 27, 2008 – 28 20 $1.4 billionCentral Mesa ExtensionAugust 22, 2015 – 4 3.1 $200 millionNorthwest Extension Phase IMarch 19, 2016 – 3 3.2 $267 million50th Street infill stationApril 25, 2019 1 – $22.9 millionGilbert Road ExtensionMay 18, 2019 – 2 1.9 $184 millionTempe StreetcarMay 20, 2022Marina Heights/Rio Solado Parkway – 14 3 $192 millionNorthwest Extension Phase IIJanuary 27, 2024 – 3 1.6 $401 millionSouth Central ExtensionJune 7, 2025 Downtown Phoenix Hub – 8 5.5 $1.34 billionTotal5038.5$3.63 billion
Central Mesa Extension The Central Mesa Extension extended rail service from the line's original eastern terminus at Sycamore/Main Street to Mesa Drive/Main Street. It added four new stations in the median of Main Street at Alma School Road, Country Club Drive, Center Street, and Mesa Drive, bringing rail service directly to Downtown Mesa. In March 2012, Valley Metro selected a design-build joint venture between Kiewit Corporation and Mass. Electric to construct the extension.
Construction began in July 2012 and passenger service started on August 22, 2015. Mesa held a summit in early 2012 to have urban developers give their ideas on how to revitalize downtown. The extension cost $200 million (equivalent to $ in dollars) paid for from a combination of Proposition 400 sales tax revenues, federal air quality, and New Starts grants. It is estimated to have added 5,000 daily riders.
Northwest Extension Phase I In 2016, the system was extended north from the previous western terminus at along the median of 19th Avenue to a new terminus and park and ride at in Phoenix. The extension features of track, three additional stations, and before opening was predicted to serve 5,000 riders per day in its first full year of operation.
As an original part of the Transit 2000 plan, this extension was originally scheduled to open by 2012. However, due to lower-than-expected sales tax revenues and uncertainty regarding the availability of federal funds to support the project, the opening date was delayed. Initially, it was pushed back to 2014, and then it was rescheduled again by 9 years, to the fiscal year 2023, by the Phoenix City Council in June 2009. In July 2012, a vote was held to reschedule this extension to open in 2016. Under this plan, the city of Phoenix advanced $60 million (equivalent to $ in dollars) of local funds to Valley Metro Rail, who would then fund the remaining $267 million cost of the project (equivalent to $ in dollars) with both Transit 2000 and Proposition 400 funds, thereby allowing work on the project to begin.
The design-build contract was awarded to a joint venture of Sundt and Stacy and Witbeck, for the extension. Construction began in January 2013, with a celebration to mark the laying of the first track section being held in July 2014. Construction work continued until December 2015, when it was announced that testing along the new stretch would begin. The extension opened on March 19, 2016.
50th Street infill station The 50th Street infill station project added a new station to the existing alignment at 50th Street and Washington, the first and only infill station added in the Valley Metro Rail & Streetcar system. The project aimed to enable better connectivity with nearby businesses, and recent commercial and residential development projects in the area. The project, funded entirely by the city of Phoenix, began construction in June 2017. Although all Valley Metro stations are ADA accessible, the new station had more accessible features including wider platforms and gentle entrance slopes. The station opened on April 25, 2019.
Gilbert Road Extension An extension further eastward, past the terminus at Mesa Drive/Main Street to Gilbert Road/Main Street, began construction in October 2016, and began operating on May 18, 2019. The line, budgeted at approximately $184 million (equivalent to $ in dollars), travels in the median of Main Street and has one intermediate stop at Stapley Drive. The design-build contract for this project was awarded to Sundt/Stacy and Witbeck, with Jacobs Engineering providing design services for the project. Service to the new stations started on May 18, 2019.
Streetcar
The S Line consists of 14 stations, running from Dorsey Lane west on Apache Boulevard, then north on Mill Avenue. From there, it loops around Downtown Tempe along Mill and Ash avenues. The route continues along Rio Salado Parkway to Marina Heights, with a possible extension to Mesa to connect with the Chicago Cubs new spring training facility, as well as Tempe Marketplace. Service began on May 20, 2022.
Northwest Extension Phase II Upon completion of Northwest Phase I, the focus shifted to Phase II of the project. This extension continues west on Dunlap Avenue before turning to head north along 25th Avenue. From there, the system heads west on Mountain View Road, before crossing Interstate 17 and terminating on the east side of the Metrocenter shopping mall. The extension includes three new stations, one in the vicinity of 25th Avenue and Dunlap, another adjacent to the Rose Mofford Sports Complex, and a relocated transit center (Thelda Williams Transit Center) on the east side of Metrocenter Mall.
The extension was originally planned to open in 2026, but it was accelerated to 2024 after the Phoenix City Council passed the Proposition 104 sales tax increase in 2015. In October 2017, the project entered the environmental assessment (EA) phase. The construction contract was awarded to Kiewit-McCarthy in July 2020 and was scheduled to break ground that fall. Service began on January 27, 2024.Phoenix opens light rail extension Tramways & Urban Transit issue 1036 April 2024 page 126
South Central Extension
Like the Northwest Extension, the funding from Proposition 104 moved up the timeline of the light rail extension to South Phoenix, this time by a decade. This extension runs from Downtown Phoenix, south along Central Avenue to Baseline Road, adding and eight stations, while connecting with two park and ride locations. Additionally, it formed a light rail hub in Downtown Phoenix, between Central and First avenues to the west and east, and Washington and Jefferson streets to the north and south. Also included are new tracks for turn-around/staging purposes at both Third Avenue and Fifth Street for enhanced flexibility during peak service. Because of the new branch created, trains along this segment were planned to operate as a new line, originating at Baseline Road and running to the Downtown Hub before taking over parts of the existing light rail system and continuing north to the terminus at Metro Parkway.