The Mobile City Council approved funding for the Gulf Coast Amtrak Train Service running from New Orleans to Mobile with a 6-0 vote. Southern Rail Commission Chairman Knox Ross says with platforms ready in New Orleans and the Mississippi cities the next steps are getting the platform and station track completed in Mobile…
“..and that will give us a much better idea of exactly honing in on a start date.”
A 6-0 vote Tuesday by the City Council in Mobile, Alabama, has set the stage for Amtrak passenger trains to roll from New Orleans to Mobile next year.
The Sun Herald reports that the Mobile council voted to fund the passenger train service for three years. The funding had already been approved in Mississippi and Louisiana. Amtrak's projected start date for the service is spring of 2025. It is uncertain whether it can begin before the Super Bowl is played in New Orleans on Feb. 9.
A major development happened Tuesday in the ongoing battle to bring passenger rail service back to the Gulf Coast, and it could happen by Spring 2025.
In Mobile, Ala., city council members voted unanimously to approve a deal with Amtrak.
In that deal, the city of Mobile will pay $3.084 million to subsidize the rail service for three years.
“Everybody made that same deal,” Knox Ross, Chairman of the Southern Rail Commission explained. “Louisiana, Mississippi, they committed the same exact amount of money for that three year period. What that does is it gives us a chance to prove the concept.”
All that stands in the way of a restored Amtrak route from New Orleans to Mobile -- with stops in cities along the Mississippi Gulf Coast -- is an expected vote of approval by the Mobile City Council next week.
For years, rail advocates have fought for the return of the Amtrak route, which had been disrupted by damage to rail infrastructure from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Now, it looks like success is imminent, with Amtrak planning for rail service beginning in the first quarter of 2025.
Passenger rail service could return to the Gulf Coast between New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama, early next year, thanks to a new agreement between Mobile and Amtrak.
Mobile city leaders said last week they have finalized language for a funding agreement and ground lease that will pave the way for construction of a new train stop - the final hurdle needed before the service can begin. A majority of the Mobile City Council, which had opposed the deal earlier this spring because of concern over its cost, is expected to approve the agreement next week.
Passenger rail service could return to the Gulf Coast between New Orleans and Mobile early next year, thanks to a new agreement between the city of Mobile and Amtrak.
Mobile city leaders said last week they have finalized language for a funding agreement and ground lease that will pave the way for construction of a new train stop — the final hurdle needed before the service can begin. A majority of the Mobile City Council, which had opposed the deal earlier this spring because of concerns over its cost, is expected to approve the agreement next week.
A shakeup in city council support for Amtrak’s return to Mobile would give Amtrak the necessary votes to pass the city council. District 6 Councilman Josh Woods pledged his support for the passenger rail service after historically being against the contract between the passenger rail service and the city.
Woods had previously been one of three council members to oppose Amtrak’s return, along with District 4 Councilman Ben Reynolds and District 5 Councilman Joel Daves. The contract would need a supermajority, five of seven votes to pass.
Amtrak appears to be on the verge of an agreement with the City of Mobile that finally will allow Gulf Coast passenger service to move forward.
WALA-TV reports that a spokeswoman for Mayor Sandy Stimpson said the city and Amtrak had finalized language for a funding agreement for Mobile-New Orleans service and a lease needed for the train’s station stop in Mobile, and that a city councilman who had previously opposed funding now says he will support that agreement. That change appears to be enough to give the funding the five votes needed for council approval.
Passenger rail service could return to the Gulf Coast after recent changes were made to the proposed contract with Amtrak that are now alleviating at least one Mobile city councilman's concerns. Councilman Josh Woods says the updated contract he read Wednesday morning has an important addition he was looking for.
As we explained in our last article on passenger rail in the Gulf Coast, in 2017, the Federal Railroad Administration’s Gulf Coast Working Group (GCWG) established that the region needs passenger rail expansion, first from New Orleans to Mobile—a major step in growing the region’s rail network. However, the restoration process would require infrastructure and operations investment.