The Arizona Eastern Railway (AAR reporting marks AZER) was a Class III railroad in the United States state of Arizona. Originally chartered as the Gila Valley, Globe and Northern Railway on January 5, 1895, the Arizona Eastern Railroad name took over during construction. Completed in 1899, it connected Bowie, Arizona, to Miami, Arizona, for a distance of 135 miles (217 km). The Southern Pacific Railroad took control of it in 1905 and merged it into its system by 1924, calling it the Globe Branch. It later sold the line to StatesRail in 1988 which was purchased by RailAmerica in 2001. Permian Basin Railways then bought the Arizona Eastern Railway in late 2004.
In 2006, Arizona Eastern announced the construction of a new 10-mile (16 km) spur from Safford to the new Safford Mine of Phelps Dodge Corporation, north of Safford. The mine and rail spur were expected to open in Spring 2008. Shuttle trains of copper ore will be transported by the AZER to the Phelps Dodge smelter at Miami-Claypool.
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