The Mississippi Gulf Coast hasn’t been closer to getting Amtrak access back in the last 15 years than it is now.

But even with $77 million in awarded funds and a 2022 proposed start date, the return of the passenger rail line — which some prominent officials believe would be an economic boon to the state and help complete years of recovery efforts following Hurricane Katrina — still isn’t a sure thing.

“Assessments have shown this route has the capacity to accommodate both Amtrak and freight movement,” U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, a long-time supporter of the plan, told Mississippi Today. “Restoring this route has been delayed long enough.”