Contractors are doing preliminary work on a new passenger train stop downtown, but there still is no definitive timeline on when the project will be complete.

A federal grant is paying for CSX Corp. to construct a temporary platform next to the Arthur Outlaw Mobile Convention Center for an Amtrak stop and a sidetrack where the train will park overnight.

“All stakeholders are working to begin Gulf Coast passenger service as expeditiously as possible,” company spokesman Austin Staton said in an email. “I can confirm that CSX does have contractors on site, and they have been doing clearing and grading work.”