"As a kid, I used to ride the Hummingbird."
There was a time when taking the train in Mobile was an exciting adventure.
Lifetime Mobilian Noel Nelson remembers.
"We would take a bus down in kindergarten and first grade to a park down there in Biloxi, and we'd ride the Hummingbird back to Mobile."
U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today praised the award of $178,435,333 from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to provide crucial funding to restore passenger rail service along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. A second award of $52,000,000 will help reestablish freight rail service along a 35-mile segment of the Gloster Southern Railroad. The two awards totaling $230,435,333 were made possible by yearly appropriations and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which Wicker helped negotiate as the lead Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee.
"I am thrilled to announce this $178.4 million federal grant to restore passenger rail service along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. This is a significant milestone, representing years of dedicated efforts to reconnect our communities after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Restoring passenger rail service will create jobs, improve quality of life, and offer a convenient travel option for tourists, contributing to our region's economic growth and vitality. I appreciate the work of all who have worked tirelessly to bring this project to this point. I look forward to getting this plan across the finish line in the near future with the support of our state and local officials,” Wicker said.
Amtrak and the Southern Rail Commission (SRC) last week provided an update on plans to begin passenger-rail service between New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama. Amtrak is running familiarization trips for the service, which is anticipated to begin in 2024. However, numerous steps have yet to be completed before an exact launch date can be announced, Amtrak and SRC officials said in a press release.
At one time, Amtrak hoped to begin service along the Gulf Coast by the end of this year. Now, it appears that will not happen until well into 2024.
The Southern Rail Commission, which is sponsoring the Amtrak line, continues to work on funding and securing agreements to build a platform and overlay track in Mobile.
“This has been a long time coming,” Arun Rao, Amtrak’s director of network development, said at a Friday meeting of the Southern Rail Commission in Point Clear.
He added that the train company is “champing at the bit” to start service “as soon as possible.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
A map that was recently shared at town hall meetings shows a dramatically expanded long-distance network.
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.