Amtrak service may return to Mobile in 2023

It could be all aboard for the return of passenger train service to the Gulf Coast in the upcoming year. The last train carrying passengers out of Mobile left the station in 2005. The last regular daily runs between Mobile and New Orleans were about a half century ago. But now, after years of work and lengthy negotiations, supporters say they’re confident that 2023 is the year that trains roll along the Gulf Coast again.

“Basically, what I can say, we have an agreement that will result in a three-hour and 23-minute run time between Mobile and New Orleans,” said Knox Ross. He’s chairman of the Southern Rail Commission. That’s a three-state agency working to restore passenger train service in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.

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Details emerge over Gulf Coast Amtrak route from Mobile to New Orleans, as former enemies become funding partners

As Amtrak plans for a 2023 start date, the freight companies and Alabama port that once said passenger rail’s return to the Mississippi Gulf Coast could be detrimental to business are now pledging millions of dollars in improvements to the tracks between Mobile and New Orleans. 

The freight companies and Alabama Port Authority have promised to pay a collective $15 million to improve the passenger train’s route in efforts to decrease the total time it will take Amtrak to go between New Orleans and Mobile, according to details obtained by a Mississippi Today records request.

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Amtrak’s Gulf Coast return will be in 2023, but few other details disclosed

Amtrak’s return to the Gulf Coast will come in 2023, but few details are being disclosed about last month’s settlement in a case before a federal agency that could have national implications over how passenger rail is conducted along freight lines.

An Amtrak official disclosed Friday that a pending settlement ending a legal proceeding before the U.S. Surface Transportation Board will enable a 2023 start of Amtrak service connecting New Orleans to Mobile with four stops along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

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Amtrak plans service to Mobile starting next year

Amtrak plans to start its long-awaited service between here and New Orleans next year, but key details – including cost – are still to be worked out.

Last month, Amtrak reached a settlement with the Port of Mobile, Norfolk Southern and CSX. The terms of that settlement are confidential until the Surface Transportation Board approves it. But if it does, as expected, it will pave the way for passenger rail service in Mobile for the first time since 2005.

“This is a big deal,” Southern Rail Commission Chairman Knox Ross said during a meeting of the organization in Mobile on Friday. “We’ve been working to get this service, really since 2005.”

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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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