WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board on Friday, March 13, approved Union Pacific’s plans to build 6 miles of new rail line in Maricopa County, Ariz., a project that had been delayed because of concerns over damage to archaeological sites along the right-of-way.
The Pecos Industrial Rail Access and Train Extension project, or PIRATE, will connect UP’s Phoenix Subdivision to an industrial park, the Pecos Advanced Manufacturing Zone, near Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. A steel micromill that would be served by the line has been open since October 2023.
Last month, the STB’s Office of Environmental Analysis determined that its earlier environmental assessment for the project remained valid and issued a Final Environmental Assessment, which determined the project would not have significant environmental impacts. It also recommended actions to mitigate any impacts [see “Proposed Union Pacific branch …,” Trains.com, Feb. 27, 2026]. The board’s unanimous decision accepted the OEA’s analysis and exempted the project from a full environmental impact statement.
“While UP’s posture and conduct during the course of this proceeding have raised serious concerns, the board concludes that, based on the record, the proposed construction and operation of the Line qualify for an exemption under section 10502,” the STB wrote in its decision. “The transportation merits of UP’s petition are unopposed.”
Union Pacific, which has repeatedly expressed frustration over the regulatory delay, welcomed the board’s action.
“We’re pleased with the decision,” the company said in a statement to Trains, “and look forward to continuing to closely work with the STB and local community to make sure the project is implemented in a way that honors the area’s culture.”
Board review of the project, which dates to June 2022, was paused in August 2023 after the Tohono O’odham Nation requested it be placed on hold to assess the damage along the right-of-way [see “Regulators pause environmental review …,” Sept. 1, 2023]. UP said then that landowners adjacent to the railroad property had entered without permission, and the damage was from construction unrelated to the rail line. The railroad asked those landowners to halt work on UP’s property, hired security, and fenced its land.
Little movement followed, and UP pressed the board for action on the project in October 2024 [see “Union Pacific seeks update …,” Oct. 3, 2024]. It and steelmaker Commercial Metals Co. also requested a decision late that year [see “Union Pacific and steelmaker urge STB …,” Dec. 19, 2024].
In between those requests, the board, during Robert Primus’ tenure as chairman, sought additional information from UP and took the railroad to task, saying it needed to “respond with greater clarity and accuracy.” [See “Regulators scold Union Pacific …,” Nov. 14, 2024]. Primus had the harshest words, saying the matter was “another example of UP’s inability to adhere to the board’s guidelines and provide timely and appropriate responses to board orders.”
Primus was fired by President Donald Trump in August 2025; his lawsuit to regain his position is pending. Since his firing and the earlier retirement of former Chairman Martin J. Oberman, the board has operated with three members rather than its full complement of five.
— To report news or errors, contact trainsnewswire@firecrown.com.
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“…which will built a new 6-mile branch line…” ???
David P. Morgan and Rosemary Entringer have definitely left the building.
I have news –every acre of land anywhere has a history. You can’t find a place where nobody has died, nobody is buried, nobody lived and left behind artifacts.
Drive on any freeway, park at any shopping mall, somebody died and was buried in the soil beneath you.
In my own family a land sale was held up because ancestors (white American) were buried on it. (And they surely weren’t the only ones — the Oneida Native American tribe lived there before for centuries.) That’s when I decided (not that I needed much persuasion) that when I’m gone, I’m gone. No marker, no memorial, just get rid of the ashes.
I’m curious to see if the completion of the UPRR PIRATE branch project will be enough to encourage UPRR to reopen the partially embargoed Phoenix-Wellton Line due to increased RR traffic in the Phoenix-Mesa area connecting to Los Angeles.
WSP was the industrial archeological firm hired to analyze, dig, and rescue very important artifacts. Among the items were the remains of a man, woman, and child from roughly 3000 years ago. Our youngest daughter is a University of Edinburgh educated industrial archeologist and was among the team leaders. AZ is covered in indigenous persons ‘ remains. Not as exciting as UChicago-educated Indiana Jones would lead people to believe, but many critical artifacts are rescued.
IS there any wonder that Primus was fired for injecting his political views into what was something everyone in Arizona wanted, and to whit, which UP had no control over, that being third party contractors encroaching on the UP right of way in other work which forced UP to fence off and secure their own right of way from interlopers who were disturbing environmentally sensitive lands. This is the typical democratic way of hitting everything with a sledge hammer when a small geology pick and better direction would have been more than adequate. The STB role is to promote fair rail growth and access, not stifle it and this is exactly what Primus caused to happen with his heavy handed approach. It is no wonder that many rail worthy projects are now underway across the country under Chairman Fuchs more common sense approach than the long drawn out approach of some past Chairmen who stifled growth for no good reason except that it suited them. Hurrah for progress…
Nothing involving historically vapid DJT is free of partisanship. Same historical oaf who argued the Colonial Army took back airports from the British; claimed no-one knew Mr. Lincoln was a Republican (except every American who took US history), or who had unapproved DOGE remove “Enola Gay” from the Smithsonian website because the tech crew saw “Gay.” Naturally he cares not at all about indigenous peoples history anymore than he wants his Trump-Epstein files fully released.