Passenger rail from BR to NOLA tentatively scheduled for mid-2025

A high-speed passenger train from Baton Rouge to New Orleans could be closer than you think. Leaders said the funding is in place and the service is tentatively scheduled for mid-2025.

Adam Knapp with the Baton Rouge Area Chamber said they polled people in both metros and every parish along the way. Most have been unanimously in favor of the passenger rail.

He said one of the biggest challenges is that historically, the rail operators, the companies that own the tracks have not necessarily been willing as partners to have these conversations.

Now multiple organizations are on the same track and Knapp said the project is moving forward.

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Amtrak is coming; stay track-smart

For the first time in 17 years, Amtrak will offer service to the Gulf Coast. In the next few months, passengers will have access to two daily round trips between New Orleans and Mobile with stops in four Mississippi cities along the way. This is great news for the area — but it also prompts an important reminder regarding track safety, as we add trains that go faster than freight speeds. By following a few common-sense tips, drivers and pedestrians can stay safe while railroads go about the vital business of delivering goods and people to their destinations.

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After ‘unexpected’ $20M windfall, state to fund train from New Orleans to Baton Rouge

Earlier this year, Louisiana reached a deal with the federal government to end a long-winding and contentious battle over misspent grant money that was part of the Road Home program, aimed at helping victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

As part of the deal, Louisiana would only have to pay $32.5 million back to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development—a dramatic decrease from $300 million it could have owed.

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Mississippi cities ready with Amtrak platforms, while key details remain unresolved in Mobile

There is a stark contrast between Alabama and Mississippi when it comes to readiness for the return of passenger rail service for the first time since Hurricane Katrina.

New train platforms have been completed in Biloxi, Gulfport, Pascagoula and Bay St. Louis. Amtrak signs have been erected. Biloxi’s platform is across from a bus facility, while the other three cities have newly restored train stations.

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FRA’s Long-Distance Study Produces Map of Expanded Amtrak Services

Billings to Denver, Portland to Boise, El Paso to Albuquerque. Those are just a few of the new routes found on a map recently produced by the Federal Railroad Administration of a dramatically expanded long-distance passenger train network. 

As part of 2021’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the FRA was required to study the prospects of expanding Amtrak’s current long-distance network to cities that have either lost their service since the creation of Amtrak in 1971 or never had it to begin with. As part of that effort, the FRA hosted a series of workshops around the country this year, most recently in Cleveland, to gather input from stakeholders. During that last meeting in Ohio, the FRA also shared a map of an “Enhanced Network.” 

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A map that was recently shared at town hall meetings shows a dramatically expanded long-distance network. 

The potential economic impact of passenger rail in Tennessee

As the crow flies, it’s over 450 miles. Driving yields over 500 miles and nearly an eight-hour trek from Bristol to Memphis, if traffic isn’t a huge problem. But with Tennessee’s rapid growth, it is.

“Traffic is not fun, and it’s not getting better,” Sen. Jon Lundberg (R-Bristol) said. “It’s not going to get better.” Enter passenger rail. It wouldn’t be a massive fix, but leaders say it could be a great start while also providing a potential massive economic boost.

“It’s primarily through tourism, through job creation in the entertainment industry and through just the multiplier of activities,” Souther n Rail Commission member Toby Bennington said.

Bennington, a one-time Memphis resident, is one of five Alabama members on the Southern Rail Commission, an organization that essentially acts as a facilitator between all the different parties required to make passenger rail happen.

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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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