In 2015, Congress established the Gulf Coast Working Group to conduct a study on restoring service, which culminated in a report supporting a route between New Orleans and Mobile. Since 2016, the Southern Rail Commission has secured significant federal funding to support the restoration of service.

$1 MILLION

SRC Station Planning Grants (2016)

Awarded to the cities of Anniston, Birmingham, Mobile, Pascagoula, Biloxi, Gulfport, Bay Saint Louis, Baton Rouge, and Gonzales, as well as St. John Parish

$1.3 MILLION

SRC Station Construction Grants (September 2021)

Awarded to the cities of Gulfport, Bay Saint Louis, Pascagoula, and Birmingham

$33 MILLION

Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Program (CRISI) (June 2019)

Awarded to the cities of Gulfport, Bay Saint Louis, Pascagoula, and Birmingham

$5.45 MILLION

Restoration and Enhancement Program (R&E) (May 2019)

Funds provided to Amtrak for operating expenses for the years 1-3 of service

$178,435,333

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (September 2023) Appropriated by Sen. Wicker of Mississippi to restore Gulf Coast rail service

$400,000

FRA Interstate Rail Compact Grant (March 2024)

Supports administrative capacity, operations, and initiatives to expand passenger rail operations across the South

$500,000

FRA Corridor Identification and Development Program (December 2023)

To prepare a scope, schedule, and cost estimate for preparing a service development plan

These federal funds have been further bolstered by matching commitments from Louisiana, Mississippi, and the City of Mobile.

In December 2022, a settlement agreement facilitated by the Surface Transportation Board cleared the way for passenger service along the Mobile to New Orleans corridor. In 2023, the FRA awarded $178 million in funding to Amtrak for the project, and in 2024, Mobile’s city council approved the final agreements for the station platform.

Amtrak is now in the final stages of ticket pricing, safety training, and other operational preparations.

A study by the Trent Lott National Center for Excellence in Economic Development found that the expansion of passenger rail service would generate $282.58 million annually for Mississippi and create 45 high-wage train operating jobs in Louisiana. Tourism impacts could be even more significant, with a modest 5% increase in visitors in Harrison County potentially generating $92 million in additional spending. 

A Jacksonville State University study estimates that expanding rail service in Alabama would create up to 10,800 construction jobs, generate between $6.3 million and $21.6 million in railway operations, and boost tourism spending by up to $389.2 million, supporting thousands of jobs. 

This expansion would connect growing population centers, support diverse industries, provide a critical evacuation route, attract sales tax revenue from tourists and casino patrons, and offer safe and affordable transportation options.

• In 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed critical rail infrastructure along the Gulf Coast, leading to the suspension of passenger rail service throughout the region. In 2016, the SRC announced the allocations for more than $2 million in funding through the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to communities in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana that are underway with planning, upgrading, and constructing their rail stations.

• Congress created the Gulf Coast Working Group (GCWG) in the 2015 federal transportation reauthorization (FAST Act) to perform an exhaustive study on restoring the service, which was administered by the FRA.

• The GCWG Report was completed in July 2017, and, in it, the GCWG identified the preferred option as restoring service between New Orleans, LA, and Orlando, FL, via long-distance train for one daily round trip and New Orleans, LA, and Mobile, AL, via state-supported train for one daily round trip.

• In May 2019, SRC was awarded a $5.45 million federal grant through the Restoration and Enhancement (R&E) Grants Program that can fund operating expenses for the first and second years of service along the restored rail line.

• Following that grant, in June 2019, SRC was awarded a $33 million federal grant through the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program to complete major infrastructure and capital improvements necessary for service restoration. These federal grants also leverage matching commitments from the states of Louisiana and Mississippi and the City of Mobile.

• In addition, in August 2019, SRC was awarded a $4.36 million federal grant through the Restoration and Enhancement (R&E) Grants Program from FRA to SRC. This federal grant will fund operating expenses for the first year of service along the new rail line and leverages commitments of approximately $1.4 million from the states of Louisiana and Mississippi and the City of Mobile.

• The Gulf Coast Passenger Rail project is supported as a bipartisan effort of Gov. Phil Bryant of Mississippi, former Gov. John Bel Edwards, Alabama SRC commissioners, Sen. Wicker, Sen. Cochran, Sen. Shelby, Sen. Hyde-Smith, local legislative leaders in Mississippi and Louisiana, and Rep. Steven Palazzo.

• In April 2021, Amtrak filed a petition asking the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to deny CSX’s and Norfolk Southern’s motion to dismiss Amtrak’s application to restore passenger rail service to the Gulf Coast between New Orleans and Mobile.

• In December 2022, the Surface Transportation Board announced a settlement agreement between Amtrak and the freight railroads which will enable the start of passenger service along the Mobile to New Orleans corridor.

• On Sept. 21, 2023, Sen. Wicker announced the award of $178,435,333 to Amtrak from the FRA’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Program to provide crucial funding to restore passenger rail service along the Gulf Coast.

• In March 2024, the FRA awarded the Southern Rail Commission $400,000 from the Interstate Rail Compacts (IRC) program to support administrative capacity, operations, and initiatives to promote passenger rail operations across the South.

• On Aug. 6, 2024, the Mobile City Council unanimously voted to approve the funding and land use agreements with Amtrak that allowed the construction of the train platform and planning for the launch of service to finally move forward.

• On Oct. 21, 2024, SRC, Amtrak, and other partners, celebrated the groundbreaking of the Mobile platform with Secretary Pete Buttigieg of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

• In Dec. 2024, Amtrak and the City of Mobile fully executed operating agreements for funding matches and the station lease. The service agreements between Amtrak and the states of Mississippi and Louisiana received final approval in Spring 2025.

• In April 2025, Amtrak announced the name of the new service.