RAISE grant advances Louisiana passenger-rail project

A Louisiana passenger-rail project has received a $20 million federal grant for the real-estate acquisition, design and construction of two train stations.

Issued under the federal Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program, the award will help fund construction of the Baton Rouge and Gonzales train stations that would serve restored Amtrak passenger-rail service between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, U.S. Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) announced Aug. 8.

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Baton Rouge to New Orleans rail receiving $20M to further project

The Baton Rouge to New Orleans rail receives $20 million in funding as the project progresses, according to Congressman Garret Graves.

Graves said funding includes real estate acquisition, design, and construction of train stations in Baton Rouge and Gonzales. In a statement, Graves hits at the lack of funding Louisiana has received compared to other states investing in infrastructure:

“For the past two years, we’ve watched the U.S. Department of Transportation give away billions of dollars in grants to flawed transportation and infrastructure priorities. As a result, Louisiana has largely been left off the awards list in place of excessive funding going to California and other states. While this federal funding for the Capital Region is good news to help relieve pressure on I-10, there are high-priority projects we must get built. A new bridge crossing the Mississippi River and upgrades to Highway 30 and LA-1 needed to get built yesterday. We will continue to work with the U.S. Department of Transportation to fund priority projects — not the Administration’s pet political projects.”

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Process to bring passenger rail service back to the Coast takes another step forward

On Monday, Bay St. Louis became the first city on the Mississippi Coast to begin construction on a set of projects needed before Amtrak can begin running trains from New Orleans to Mobile with four stops in South Mississippi.

“I think this is the first boots on the ground infrastructure commitment people have seen,” said Knox Ross, Southern Rail Commission chairman.

The ground breaking ceremony marked the beginning of construction to reactivate Bay St. Louis’ Amtrak station by upgrading the train platforms.

“It’s going to be big for the city, it’s going to allow us to get people out of New Orleans and into our Coast,” said Bay St. Louis Mayor Mike Favre.

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Amtrak again argues Gulf Coast service will cause ‘no unreasonable impairment’ to freight traffic

Amtrak says its additional analysis shows its proposed Gulf Coast passenger service will cause “no unreasonable impairment” on the proposed route between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., and argues that the case for such impairment by host railroads CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern “has failed.”

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‘Amtrak expects to be able to run the train’: Mississippi city to reactivate train station for Gulf Coast

The coastal Mississippi city of Bay St. Louis is hosting a groundbreaking on Monday to celebrate the “reactivation” of the city’s Amtrak train station that has been mothballed since Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast nearly 17 years ago.

U.S. Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg will be on hand for a 2 p.m. event that includes a groundbreaking for the construction activity that will take place to get the station prepared for Amtrak’s return.

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STB sets public hearing dates in CP-KCS merger case

The Surface Transportation Board will hold a three-day public hearing in September on the proposed merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern.

The hearing will be held Sept. 28, 29 and 30 at the board’s offices in Washington, D.C., but speakers can also participate online via video conferencing, the STB announced late last week.

The board also modified its procedural schedule in the case so that final briefs will be due Oct. 14.

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Pascagoula officials optimistic Amtrak passenger service will return to coast

In February 2016, the Pascagoula community came out to welcome Amtrak officials and other dignitaries, including U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, as a passenger train pulled into Pascagoula for the first time since 2005.

And then they waited. And hoped.

Six years later, they’re still waiting -- and hoping.

The return of passenger rail service between New Orleans and Mobile -- with Pascagoula as the only Jackson County stop -- remains somewhat in limbo. The Southern Rail Commission -- comprised of state-appointees from Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama -- has been pushing for years for the return of passenger service and helped secure $66 million in federal funding for rail infrastructure improvements.

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Our Views: Work it out, somehow, to restore and expand passenger train service

When Hurricane Katrina blew through the Gulf Coast, it devastated all sorts of infrastructure, including coastal highways — and train tracks. Now, a debate between Amtrak and freight railroads is playing out over whether there will again be passenger rail from New Orleans to the Atlantic seaboard, or something like the services available until 2005.

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Expanding passenger rail from New Orleans: Where to stop, what hurdles remain

Throughout the last century, rail stations dotted south Louisiana and the Mississippi Gulf Coast as passenger trains ferried commuters between New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Mobile, stopping in towns and cities along the way.

But the last several decades have not been kind to passenger rail. Kansas City Southern ended its Southern Belle service between New Orleans and Baton Rouge in 1969. Then, in 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed the tracks between New Orleans and Mobile, putting a halt to the service eastward and turning depots along the coast into artifacts of a bygone era.  

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The battle that will determine the future of American passenger rail

Amtrak has money to expand, but it doesn’t own the railroad tracks. A stalled effort along the Gulf Coast is a test of its ability to grow.

Months after Washington approved billions to significantly expand Amtrak’s footprint across the country, an early attempt at growth has reached an impasse in a test case that could define the American rail network for a generation.

The escalating clash is playing out on the Gulf Coast, where Amtrak wants to restore service 17 years after Hurricane Katrina flooded the region’s rail infrastructure. Amid fanfare over federal money as a president nicknamed “Amtrak Joe” watches from the White House, the passenger rail and the freight railroads that control the tracks are in mediation to resolve disputes over Amtrak’s proposed service levels.

At the core of the conflict is a mandate that requires freight railroads to give passenger trains access to rail track and preference over other rail traffic. A federal board is weighing the fate of Gulf Coast passenger service in a triallike process pitting Amtrak against freight railroads. Because Amtrak operates mostly on tracks owned by others, the case could set precedent as the passenger railroad embarks on a $75 billion expansion with bipartisan support.

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