A new station, nearly 20 years in the making, will make the goal of connecting Mobile, Ala., and New Orleans, La., closer to a reality in Summer 2025.
Officials said the construction of a new Amtrak platform and layover track in Mobile is underway with a targeted completion date of this summer. Officials expect the first trains to roll out of the station then.
After nearly two decades of anticipation, passenger rail service between Mobile and New Orleans is finally approaching the finish line.
Construction on a new Amtrak platform and layover track in downtown Mobile is underway, and officials are eyeing summer 2025 for the first trains to roll out.
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Amtrak’s could be operating Gulf Coast service by June, according to U.S. Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi.
Wicker is even inviting newly minted U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to Mississippi in June, “when Amtrak services are expected to resume along the Gulf Coast,” a Jan. 15 news release indicates.
Passenger rail service in the United States is woefully lacking compared to other countries, particularly long-distance service that connects far-reaching cities. Amtrak currently operates 15 long-distance routes, which range from 750 to 2,500 miles. But they stretch over just 39 states and the District of Columbia, and a map of those routes reveals that large swaths of the country don’t have any rail options.
Hoping to soon restore rail service along the Gulf Coast from New Orleans and Mobile after 20 years, the Federal Railroad Administration last week granted $21.1 million for Amtrak, U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans said.
“This funding is not just restoring a rail line, it is reigniting economic opportunity, expanding access to transportation, and reconnecting families and businesses across the region,” Carter said. The money comes from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.
Amtrak’s return to the Gulf Coast is expected to come this summer, and not this spring or anywhere close to reaching a Mardi Gras time frame that officials had hoped for last fall.
If anything, Amtrak’s revival along the Gulf Coast could coincide with the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the devastating storm that knocked the service off line in 2005.
Earlier this week, the Federal Railroad Administration announced a significant investment of $21,117,115 in Restoration and Enhancement (R&E) grant funding to Amtrak. This funding will support the restoration of intercity passenger rail service with two daily roundtrips along the Gulf Coast, connecting New Orleans, LA, to Mobile, AL.
The Federal Railroad Administration will award a $21.1 million grant for the return of Amtrak Gulf Coast service, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) announced today (Jan. 6, 2025). The funding will support operating costs for the planned twice-daily round trips between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala.
Funds will come from the FRA’s Restoration and Enhancement Grant program.
“This is great news for Mississippi,” Wicker said in a press release. “Gulf Coast Rail is an investment in the future of our state. This grant will help with operational costs, ultimately reconnecting communities and ensuring that Mississippians have access to reliable transportation.”
Amazing adventures, extraordinary landscapes and fabulous cuisine — the world’s greatest railway journeys are an unforgettable experience that can immerse you in the culture of a new country.
Demand for luxury “land cruise” trains with five-star hotel-style accommodation is booming. 2025 will see several new trains take to the rails for the first time, offering new opportunities to explore Italy, France, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom.
But the best railway journeys don’t have to be the most expensive. There’s an ever-evolving world of train trips out there.
Crowds of people and even brass bands greeted the Amtrak Sunset Limited when the Amtrak inspection train rolled across South Mississippi in 2016. At that time nobody knew passenger train service between New Orleans and Mobile — with stops in Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula on the Mississippi Gulf Coast would take another nine years to pull off.