Grand Canyon at sunset, August 20, 2019
One may not immediately associate one of the most visited national parks in the United States with transportation, but the history of Grand Canyon National Park is intertwined with the area’s transportation network. The construction of a railroad line by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in 1901 led to the development of Grand Canyon Village, where 90 percent of visitors to the Grand Canyon pass through. Improved automobile access led to the railroad line discontinuing passenger services in the 1960s and freight services in the 1970s. Also in the 1970s, the National Park Service set up a system of shuttle buses within the park to reduce vehicle traffic and associated vehicle emissions along the South Rim of the canyon. That shuttle bus system continues to operate today, is one of the most utilized shuttle bus systems managed by the National Park Service, and has been credited with reducing the number of vehicles that enter the park each year. In the 1980s, private investors purchased the railroad line from Williams to the Grand Canyon and reestablished a tourist service that operates at least one round trip per day each day of the year.
The Grand Canyon Railway is a heritage railway that operates between Williams, AZ and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The line was completed on September 17, 1901 by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and helped to spur the creation of Grand Canyon Village (the Grand Canyon Depot is about 330 feet from the south rim of the canyon). However, as automobile travel became more popular and easier, revenues declined, and passenger service was ended in 1968. Freight services continued until 1974. Private investors purchased the line in 1988 and service resumed on September 17, 1989. The line was sold to Xanterra in 2006, which decided to retire the steam locomotives that pulled most of the trains in favor of diesel locomotives, though the steam engines are used on special occasions. Today, the Grand Canyon Railway operates at least one daily round trip from Williams to the Grand Canyon Depot and carries about 225,000 passengers annually. The entire line is in the National Register of Historic Places.
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The National Park Service has had a shuttle bus system within Grand Canyon National Park since 1974. Since 2000, Boston-based Paul Revere Transportation has been the operator and maintainer of this service. This shuttle system is one of the most heavily utilized in the National Park Service system, nearly 6.9 million people used it during 2014. The shuttle bus fleet currently consists of 30 New Flyer buses, all of which are powered by compressed natural gas. In addition, Xanterra, the current provider of concessions and lodging, operates tours within the park using a fleet of Orion VII/CNG buses.
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