When will Amtrak roll from Mobile? Unanswered questions remain on Gulf Coast route

Amtrak’s return to the Gulf Coast continues to be a question with very few answers to it.

Will the trains roll between New Orleans to Mobile before the end of the year? How much will tickets cost? When can I start reserving a trip?

“We wanted to start the train the first of October,” said Knox Ross, secretary/treasurer with the Southern Rail Commission – the agency created by Congress in 1982, and advocates for passenger rail service in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. “There are just so many moving parts.”

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Proposal would make Mississippi the passenger rail hub of the south

Mississippi could soon be the hub of a significant expansion to the Gulf South's passenger rail network, just as officials are preparing to reopen the Gulf Coast line following Hurricane Katrina.

The proposed line, which Amtrak has had in its plans for two decades, would run alongside Interstate 20 and through the cities of Meridian, Jackson and Vicksburg before continuing through Louisiana and into Texas. 

If approved, the expansion would make Jackson one of three cities in the country where passengers can travel long-distance by train in all four directions.

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Amtrak Applies for Federal Grants to Improve Long Distance Network

Amtrak has submitted applications for approximately $716 million in Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) funding for 16 proposed projects around the country that would improve Long Distance reliability, reduce travel times and expand service.

Amtrak has submitted applications for approximately $716 million in Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) funding for 16 proposed projects around the country that would improve Long Distance reliability, reduce travel times and expand service.

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Ride the Rails from Louisiana to the Beach – Update

Passenger rail service along the northern Gulf Coast has been on hiatus ever since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The storm damaged a lot of infrastructure and since then the only trains that have been running the coastal route are freight trains.

However, this past December an agreement was reached between Amtrak, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway Company and the Port of Mobile reached a deal that allows freight and passenger trains to share the tracks on the Gulf Coast corridor. That agreement literally set wheels in motion for the return of passenger rail.

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