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Project Overview: Baton Rouge to New Orleans

The project envisions twice daily trips with stops in Baton Rouge downtown and the Health District in Baton Rouge, Gonzales, LaPlace, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and the Union Passenger Terminal next to the Superdome in New Orleans. This route is part of the Gulf Coast Corridor, one of the nation’s eleven federally-designated high-speed rail corridors. The development of service between Baton Rouge and New Orleans will also function as one of the key segments in the creation of a regional network of passenger rail service stretching from Houston through New Orleans to Mobile and Atlanta.

Passenger rail service provides an attractive and reliable transportation alternative to automobile travel to better connect two largest metro areas in Louisiana comprising half of the state’s population. Passenger rail will serve as a catalyst for economic development by offering improved access to jobs and development opportunities at the stations, while also helping to serve the needs of regional and local commerce. Passenger rail can also be part of an evacuation strategy to safely and conveniently move large numbers of people out of the Greater New Orleans region when disasters pose a threat, including ambulatory medical patients that can be moved to Baton Rouge area hospitals.

Project Status

  • In 2019, Southern Rail Commission, Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC), and GNO, Inc. initiated a poll to gauge residents’ support for restoring rail between Baton Rouge and New Orleans as a part of the Gulf Coast Passenger Rail Network which showed compelling support for funding and riding the passenger rail. 75% responded favorably to the idea and 85% of respondents said that having passenger rail service between New Orleans and Baton Rouge is very important or important to them.

  • Parishes along Rail Corridor have received grant funding from the SRC for planning for station stops. Those stations can now begin construction using federal grant funding such as CRISI, TOD/RIFF, REHAB, and Opportunity Zone funding:

    • Baton Rouge developed plans for two transit oriented development stations: the downtown station on 14th Street in Mid City, catalyzing further redevelopment in the area, and the suburban location for the Health District train station which is a growing employment hub and regional destination.

    • St. John Parish developed plans for a $5.5 million train station serving commuters from across the area in the hopes the depot would boost retail and restaurant development along Main Street in downtown LaPlace.

    • Gonzales developed plans for a train station fronting East Ascension Street with a open air platform, enclosed passenger waiting area and public plaza.

  • In early 2014, a feasibility study was completed estimating the infrastructure cost of $260 million project with two daily trips at speeds of 79 mph and a ticket price of $10 to $15 each way.

  • In August 2022, the cities of Baton Rouge and Gonzales were awarded a $20 million federal RAISE grant for the real-estate acquisition, design and construction of the Baton Rouge and Gonzales train stations that would serve Amtrak passenger-rail service between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

  • In Feb. 2022, the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport submitted an application for $32 million ($7 million non-federal) for the RAISE program to plan and design rail-air connections.

  • In 2022, LA DOTD started the environmental review process along the corridor and submitted a grant application for Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program funding to support the replacement of the Bonnet Carré bridge in addition to an application for the Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program. Although they were not awarded the CRISI grant, LA DOTD has plans to re-apply in subsequent rounds.

  • In March 2023, the merger of Canadian Pacific with Kansas City Southern was approved by the Surface Transportation Board, and Canadian Pacific has stated it will allow two daily round trips between the two cities without any infrastructure improvements needed.

  • In March 2023, the SRC submitted an application for the Corridor Identification and Development Program (CIDP) to officially recognize the Gulf Coast, I-20, and Baton Rouge to Shreveport corridors. CIDP will provide $500,000 and match state contributions.

  • In October 2023, the feasibility study that was conducted in 2014 was updated to include latest projections for costs and ridership. View the study here.

  • In March 2024, the FRA awarded the Southern Rail Commission $400,000 from the Interstate Rail Compacts (IRC) grant program to support administrative capacity, operations, and initiatives to expand passenger rail operations across the South.

Economic Impact

  • Investing in connecting the two largest cities in the state with passenger rail service will secure our ability to compete as a super region.

  • Passenger rail will serve as the spine of a multi-modal network that will provide employers access to a much wider, more diverse labor pool, and provide workers with vastly increased access to jobs and affordable housing along with decreased commuting costs.

  • Passenger train service would allow riders to work during commutes, creating more productive commutes.

  • Offer easy connections to events, such as LSU and Saints football games, Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest.

  • Alternative transportation link to the NOLA International Airport.

  • Critical means of evacuation in the event of natural disasters as a means of transporting patients to Baton Rouge hospitals.

  • Projections of over 200,000 riders annually plus additional riders for large scale events such as football games, conferences.

  • Existing rail infrastructure is now owned by Canadian Pacific and will be improved to provide for safer movement of cargo and passengers along the 80-mile corridor. Crossings would be upgraded and rail lines doubled in some sections to allow freight and passenger trains to move efficiently on the same lines.