Amtrak is officially back on the Gulf Coast after a nearly 20-year hiatus of passenger rail services.
Officials, including United States Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Amtrak representatives, broke ground Tuesday at a construction site next to the Mobile, Alabama Convention Center and Cooper Riverside Park.
The highly anticipated return of Amtrak will mark the first time the rail service has operated along the Gulf Coast since Hurricane Katrina devastated the region.
Though elected leaders in Mobile initially threw a wrench in plans to bring the twice-daily train route back to the region in late June, the city council ultimately had a change of heart after returning to the negotiating table.
Back in August, the Mobile City Council unanimously voted to fund passenger services for the next three years.
Amtrak and two freight companies came to an agreement in 2022 allowing a route from Mobile to New Orleans, La. with four stops in Mississippi along the way. Those stops are designated to be in Bay St. Louis, Pascagoula, Gulfport, and Biloxi. Two trains will run in each direction daily.
The Biden-Harris administration made a promise to reconnect communities and repair our nation’s infrastructure.
Today, with the groundbreaking of the Gulf Coast Rail project, we’re restoring passenger rail service between New Orleans and Mobile—for the first time since 2005.
— Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) October 22, 2024
In addition, an agreement was reached among stakeholders on the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Grant which will provide necessary funding to restore the passenger rail service. A total of $178,435,333 was previously awarded by the Federal Railroad Administration.
“I appreciate the partnership shared by local and state government officials and the freight rail companies, CSX, and Norfolk Southern,” U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said. “This service will provide economic opportunities to the Gulf Coast Region and provide an alternative way to move people safely. Years of hard work and cooperation have brought us to this important moment.”
Though no specific date for Amtrak to begin hauling people along the Gulf Coast has been set, officials hope the rail line will be up and running by the time Super Bowl LIX kicks off in New Orleans’ Caesar’s Super Dome on February 9.
