The City of Mobile could share in the payment of a $3.048 million operations subsidy for Amtrak’s Gulf Coast service with the State of Alabama and the Alabama State Port Authority, according to Mayor Sandy Stimpson.
Mobile close to agreements to bring Amtrak rail service to the city
The city of Mobile still has work to do before work can begin to build a platform for Amtrak passenger service in that city.
Southern Rail Commissioners heard an update during their quarterly meeting that was held in Mobile on Friday morning.
Amtrak and the City of Mobile are finalizing the details for the station platform and layover track which is the final piece of infrastructure needed before the train can operate.
A lease agreement also has to be signed between the city and Amtrak, which is expected to be done by the end of this month.
Alabama governor’s office in talks with Mobile about Gulf Coast passenger funding
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s office has been in contact with officials in Mobile about possible state involvement in the Gulf Coast passenger project, AL.com reports.
Mobile officials expressed concern during a Monday meeting that the city, rather than the state, was being asked to provide funding for Amtrak’s effort to launch passenger service between Mobile and New Orleans [see “More talk but no action …,” Trains News Wire, May 28, 2024]. Louisiana and Mississippi have pledged their support for operating funding, but Alabama has to date left the matter to Mobile. The city’s mayor, Sandy Stimpson, indicated during the Monday meeting that approaching the state was again a possibility, given the long-term infrastructure benefits that would come to the state’s rail system if the passenger service begins.
More talk but no action as Mobile city council considers Amtrak service
Members of the Mobile City Council remained focused on its potential funding obligation to support Amtrak Gulf Coast service at a Monday meeting with Amtrak representatives, WKRG-TV reports.
Representatives of the passenger operator, as well as CSX, the Southern Rail Commission, and the Federal Railroad Administration were on hand for a meeting of the council’s Economic, Cultural and Civic Development Committee — the first time Amtrak has been before the council in more than for years, AL.com reports. The meeting saw committee members express concern over a city commitment to provide over $3 million in operating funding for the Mobile-New Orleans trains over the first three years of operation, and the potential ongoing commitment after that period. The states of Louisiana and Mississippi have pledged to back the train under Amtrak’s state-supported operating provisions, but Alabama has left Mobile responsible for its own funding.
Mobile city leaders discuss Amtrak plans as pressure mounts
Some Mobile city leaders pushed back hard against Amtrak officials as the rail company hoped to inch closer to their plans to bring the passenger rail service back to Mobile for the first time in decades.
Amtrak suspended its services in Mobile after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
New Gulf Coast Amtrak route awaiting decision from Mobile officials
The restoration of Amtrak service to the Gulf Coast is still planned, but city of Mobile officials are balking at the three-year, $3 million subsidy required by the service.
City officials have yet to approve operating and lease agreements with the passenger rail service that would commence twice-daily service connecting Mobile with New Orleans with stops on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
The Mobile City Council's Economic, Cultural & Civic Development Development Committee met on Tuesday to discuss the status of Amtrak in the Port City. The city needs a layover track for Amtrak trains and a platform for passengers.
Everything you need to know about Amtrak’s return to Mobile City Council for first time since 2020
Amtrak officials will return before the Mobile City Council for the first time Tuesday in four years and three months -- 1,575 days -- to talk about the Gulf Coast project and continue to seek support for it.
The council’s Economic, Cultural & Civic Development Committee will meet at 1 p.m. with Amtrak officials to discuss the project.
What happened to U.S. passenger rail?
Almost a century ago, the railroads were the economic engine of the country, spurring the transportation of both goods and people over long distances. Now, the American railroad system is merely a specter of its former self. How did the United States devolve from an expanded passenger rail network to the system we have today?
Mobile’s Amtrak decision could affect $178.4 million federal grant: rail representative
The Mobile City Council’s decision on whether to subsidize the revival of an Amtrak connection to New Orleans, bringing passenger rail back to the Port City for the first time in 19 years, could have a much bigger financial impact than the $3.1 million city taxpayers are being asked to contribute.
According to the head of the Southern Rail Commission, if the council declines to support the operations of the Gulf Coast line, it could jeopardize a $178.4 million federal grant awarded last fall to Amtrak for improvements along the Gulf Coast.
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Here’s the latest on the Baton Rouge-to-New Orleans passenger rail
Efforts to establish a passenger rail service between Baton Rouge and New Orleans are slowly but surely progressing.
That’s according to John Spain, senior adviser to the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, who gave an update on those efforts at the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge on Wednesday.