Phoenix opens $1.4 billion light-rail system

PHOENIX (Reuters) – With a hearty “All Aboard,” Phoenix launched a sleek new $1.4 billion light-rail system on Saturday amid uncertainty people will hop out of their cars and onto the train.

About 75 people became the first riders of the 20-mile (32-km) system that snakes through a sprawling desert metropolitan area that includes the cities of Tempe and Mesa.

Critics question whether enough people will be willing to switch from air-conditioned cars and trucks to the light-rail system where they will have to sweat out summertime waits at train stations. The average high temperature for Phoenix in July is 106 F (41 C).

Phoenix had been the largest U.S. city without a public rail transit system. The fifth-most populous U.S. city has about 1.6 million people, with more than 4 million in the Phoenix-Tempe-Mesa area.

Phoenix’s old trolley system shut down 60 years ago.

Reuters