New Orleans to Baton Rouge passenger train moves forward: State seeks federal funds to fix tracks

Plans to unveil a long-awaited passenger rail line connecting New Orleans and Baton Rouge are moving forward. But first, the state of Louisiana is seeking federal funding to fix up the tracks between its two largest cities.

State transportation officials are currently wrapping up engineering and financing studies of the corridor, which should be completed in February, said Darrell Saizan, a senior consultant with Saizan and Associates, during a New Orleans City Council Transportation committee meeting Tuesday.

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Amtrak passenger service between Mobile and New Orleans returning

Amtrak passenger service between Mobile and New Orleans is returning.

According to Mobile’s WKRG, a  settlement was reached on Nov. 21 between Amtrak and parties opposing the government’s plan to restore service, including the Alabama Port Authority, CSX and Norfolk Southern railroads.

The proposed route, which had been halted in 2006 after Hurricane Katrina, was opposed by freight company CSX Transportation. The Bama Buzz reported about the feud between Amtrak and company back in April 2022, when it resorted to using social media to make its case for the new route.

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Deal reached for return of passenger rail service to Gulf Coast

Passenger rail service is set to return to the Gulf Coast after a protected mediation process led to a settlement agreement allowing trains to again run between New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama.

A joint statement Tuesday morning from Amtrak, CSX, Norfolk Southern and the Alabama State Port Authority stated an agreement “had been reached to support passenger and freight service in the Gulf Coast corridor.”

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WICKER: Infrastructure and Education Promise Bright Future in Mississippi

The Mississippi Senator promotes initiatives across the state.

Over the past month, I have had the privilege of traveling across Mississippi to meet with students, teachers, builders, and innovators who are shaping the future of our state. I am always inspired by the dedication of these Mississippians. As a U.S. Senator, I am eager to support their efforts through my work on the Commerce, Armed Services, and Environment & Public Works Committees.

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Meeting explores prospects for passenger route linking Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth

Officials and other interested parties from Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Alabama met Thursday in Monroe to discuss funding efforts needed to launch service I-20 Corridor Passenger Rail Service, a proposal for an Amtrak route linking Atlanta and Dallas-Fort Worth, as well as existing Texas Eagle, City of New Orleans, and Crescent operations, by splitting the Crescent at Meridian, Miss.

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Monroe Mayor Friday Ellis hosted the meeting in partnership with the Southern Rail Commission and Transportation for America. Attendees U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith (both R-Miss.); other elected officials, and representatives of the Federal Railroad Administration, Amtrak, and Canadian Pacific. CP has indicated it is open to passenger operations on the joint Kansas City Southern-Norfolk Southern Meridian Speedway between Meridian and Shreveport, La., if the CP-KCS merger is approved.

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Amtrak Gulf Coast service’s fate headed for possible conclusion in December

A final decision could be coming in Amtrak’s quest to restart passenger rail service connecting Mobile to New Orleans.

The U.S. Surface Transportation Board, in a news release Friday, set a Dec. 7 date for a voting conference into what could determine the fate of Amtrak operating a twice-daily service along freight rail lines owned and operated by CSX and Norfolk Southern. The proposed service includes four stops in Mississippi: Pascagoula, Biloxi, Gulfport and Bay St. Louis.

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Vote scheduled to decide fate of Gulf Coast Amtrak route

A federal board has scheduled its vote on whether Amtrak’s service will return to Mississippi’s Gulf Coast with a route from Mobile to New Orleans. 

The Surface Transportation Board, a federal body made up of presidential appointees, announced Friday it will vote on the future of the passenger route on Dec. 7. The contested route has been under the board’s review for over a year, with Amtrak and the track’s freight-company owners presenting their own cases about its viability. 
There will be a final set of November hearings ahead of the vote.

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Parties to keep talking in effort to iron out Amtrak Gulf Coast dispute

The Surface Transportation Board on Tuesday granted a request from all parties involved to extend by 14 days the board-sponsored mediation regarding Amtrak’s effort to launch Gulf Coast passenger service.

Amtrak, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, and the Alabama State Port Authority will continue to talk through Oct. 25. All parties agreed that “an additional 14-day period of mediation would be productive as they seek to reach an amicable resolution of this matter.”

It’s the third time the board has approved an extension of mediation since the talks began in June regarding Amtrak’s proposal to begin service between Mobile, Ala., and New Orleans.

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CP and KCS to make their case for merger in final day of STB hearings

Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern will make their closing arguments for their merger on Thursday, the sixth and final day of Surface Transportation Board hearings on the first Class I railroad combination in two decades.

CP and KCS also will rebut criticism and comments from other railroads, state and local officials, and shippers and their trade groups during the hearing, set to begin at 10:30 a.m. Eastern and end no later than 5:30 p.m.

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