Amtrak and Southern Rail Commission apply for funds to study new long distance service across Mississippi & Louisiana to Texas

Amtrak will partner with the Southern Rail Commission (SRC) to apply for federal funds to study a new service between New York City, Atlanta,

and Dallas/Fort Worth by extending a section of the popular Amtrak Crescent train from Meridian, Miss., across Mississippi and Louisiana to Texas along Interstate 20.

Amtrak and its partners have been exploring this idea for more than 20 years, but last year’s Congressional passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act now creates new opportunities to study possible expanded long-distance Amtrak service. Amtrak Network Development Vice President Nicole Bucich announced the decision to partner with the SRC to apply for the planning funds at the Commission’s quarterly meeting in New Orleans, supporting “More Amtrak Trains for More People.”

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Monroe City Council moves forward with possible funding for intercity passenger rail

Travelers in North Louisiana may be one small step closer to resuming passenger rail service in Monroe.

The Monroe City Council approved a resolution authorizing Mayor Friday Ellis to enter into a cooperative endeavor agreement to seek grant funding from the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Grant Program for the development of an intercity passenger rail service at Tuesday's night meeting.

The development of an intercity passenger rail service connecting the I-20 corridor through Monroe, Ruston, Shreveport and Vicksburg, Mississippi, is being proposed.

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Amtrak service may return to Mobile in 2023

It could be all aboard for the return of passenger train service to the Gulf Coast in the upcoming year. The last train carrying passengers out of Mobile left the station in 2005. The last regular daily runs between Mobile and New Orleans were about a half century ago. But now, after years of work and lengthy negotiations, supporters say they’re confident that 2023 is the year that trains roll along the Gulf Coast again.

“Basically, what I can say, we have an agreement that will result in a three-hour and 23-minute run time between Mobile and New Orleans,” said Knox Ross. He’s chairman of the Southern Rail Commission. That’s a three-state agency working to restore passenger train service in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.

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Details emerge over Gulf Coast Amtrak route from Mobile to New Orleans, as former enemies become funding partners

As Amtrak plans for a 2023 start date, the freight companies and Alabama port that once said passenger rail’s return to the Mississippi Gulf Coast could be detrimental to business are now pledging millions of dollars in improvements to the tracks between Mobile and New Orleans. 

The freight companies and Alabama Port Authority have promised to pay a collective $15 million to improve the passenger train’s route in efforts to decrease the total time it will take Amtrak to go between New Orleans and Mobile, according to details obtained by a Mississippi Today records request.

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Amtrak’s Gulf Coast return will be in 2023, but few other details disclosed

Amtrak’s return to the Gulf Coast will come in 2023, but few details are being disclosed about last month’s settlement in a case before a federal agency that could have national implications over how passenger rail is conducted along freight lines.

An Amtrak official disclosed Friday that a pending settlement ending a legal proceeding before the U.S. Surface Transportation Board will enable a 2023 start of Amtrak service connecting New Orleans to Mobile with four stops along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

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Amtrak plans service to Mobile starting next year

Amtrak plans to start its long-awaited service between here and New Orleans next year, but key details – including cost – are still to be worked out.

Last month, Amtrak reached a settlement with the Port of Mobile, Norfolk Southern and CSX. The terms of that settlement are confidential until the Surface Transportation Board approves it. But if it does, as expected, it will pave the way for passenger rail service in Mobile for the first time since 2005.

“This is a big deal,” Southern Rail Commission Chairman Knox Ross said during a meeting of the organization in Mobile on Friday. “We’ve been working to get this service, really since 2005.”

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