Amtrak is expected to start a train service twice a day, seven days a week between New Orleans and Mobile in Spring of 2025. With the start of this new passenger train route between these southern USA gulf coast cities, international tour and travel companies are seeing an opportunity to promote a two-city, automobile-free holiday in America.
Amtrak Gulf Coast case could chart a course for future intercity passenger rail
On Oct. 22, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose and Amtrak President Roger Harris joined government and business officials in Mobile, Alabama, for a ceremony to mark the start of construction on a boarding platform for Amtrak’s future Gulf Coast service between Mobile and New Orleans.
Exactly when the service will launch remains unclear as of press time. In an interview with Progressive Railroading in late October, Harris said Amtrak is anticipating all aspects of the project will be wrapped up in spring 2025 so that service can begin.
Could Amtrak trains run in Mobile even before construction of platform?
Government officials have kicked around the idea of starting passenger rail service along the Gulf Coast even before the construction of a train platform and sidetrack next to the Arthur Outlaw Mobile Convention Center.
Mobile officials said Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose suggested a temporary arrangement in a letter to Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson.
Amtrak to Restart Passenger Service on Southern Railroad
Amtrak, after a long wait Mobile ve New Orleans is set to restart passenger train service between the two cities within a few months. Chairman of the Southern Railway Commission Knox Ross, announced this exciting development, noting that the process is now in its final stages. “We see a light in the tunnel, and it’s actually a train,” Ross said, expressing his optimism for this important transportation project.
Amtrak Passenger Rail Service Returns Soon to the Port City
Amtrak’s passenger rail service between Mobile and New Orleans is set to resume within months. This was reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.
Southern Rail Commission Chairman Knox Ross announced during Friday’s board meeting that the much-anticipated passenger rail service between Mobile and New Orleans is only months away. Ross expressed optimism, stating, “We see a light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s actually a train.”
More people are riding Amtrak than ever before, and improvements are on the way
Amtrak has reached a historic milestone, carrying 32.8 million passengers on the passenger rail system in fiscal year 2024. That’s a 15% increase from the previous fiscal year when it carried nearly 28.6 million riders, according to a news release from Amtrak.
“This record ridership shows that travelers throughout the U.S. want efficient travel options, and we are committed to meeting that demand,” said Stephen Gardner, Amtrak’s CEO, in the release.
Pete Buttigieg shouts out New Orleans, Gulf Coast in 'milestone' passenger train service
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg on Tuesday celebrated securing funding for a project that’s of particular interest to residents of New Orleans and their Southern neighbors.
“The Gulf Coast Corridor Improvement Project will restore passenger train service between Mobile and New Orleans for the first time since Hurricane Katrina devastated the region in 2005,” Buttigieg wrote in an Instagram post that featured several photos from his Oct. 22 visit to Mobile.
The Restoration Of Railway Route Between Two Southern Cities Destroyed After Hurricane Katrina Has Begun
Tuesday was a day to celebrate in Mobile, Alabama, as officials broke ground to begin the long-awaited restoration of the railway route between Mobile and New Orleans. The shovels hitting the mound of dirt marked a new beginning and hopefully a resurgence for the cities on this route: Mobile, Pascagoula, Biloxi, Gulf Port, and New Orleans.
The Gulf Coast Corridor Improvement Project will bring back Amtrak’s passenger train travel between these two Southern port cities for the first time since 2005 when the rails on this route were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
Secretary Buttigieg Celebrates Amtrak Groundbreaking in Mobile Alabama (Video)
Y'all Aboard! Hundreds of Mobilians came together to welcome U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to our community and celebrate the return of passenger rail service to the Gulf Coast. The additional layover track and passenger platform built during the Gulf Coast Corridor Improvement project will allow Amtrak to resume passenger services from New Orleans to Mobile.
INVESTING IN AMERICA: U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg Celebrates Groundbreaking to Restore Passenger Rail to the Gulf Coast
Secretary Pete Buttigieg joined Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson, Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose and representatives from Amtrak, the Southern Rail Commission, and other local leaders for a groundbreaking ceremony for the Gulf Coast Corridor Improvement project, which will restore passenger rail service to the Gulf Coast.
Once the layover track and platform are completed, Amtrak will resume passenger service between Mobile and New Orleans for the first time since Hurricane Katrina devastated the region in 2005. The Biden-Harris Administration awarded the project $178 million through the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Click here for the full transcript of Secretary Buttigieg’s remarks