Ride the Rails from Louisiana to the Beach – Update

Passenger rail service along the northern Gulf Coast has been on hiatus ever since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The storm damaged a lot of infrastructure and since then the only trains that have been running the coastal route are freight trains.

However, this past December an agreement was reached between Amtrak, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway Company and the Port of Mobile reached a deal that allows freight and passenger trains to share the tracks on the Gulf Coast corridor. That agreement literally set wheels in motion for the return of passenger rail.

Read More

Amtrak plans $13M project at Union Station

Residents and visitors to the Queen City will soon see a bustle of activity near Union Station as Amtrak looks to overhaul its passenger platforms.

In a meeting last week, Community Development Director Craig Hitt told the Meridian City Council Amtrak had requested permission to make improvements to its facilities and needed the city’s permission, as part of the project would involve city-owned property.

“This is a project that Amtrak has asked us to participate in, basically just allowing them to come in and do the work,” he said. “Some of it will be done on city property, but they will be covering all the costs.”

Read More

Mobile’s train stop ‘key element’ for Amtrak’s return to Gulf Coast

The construction of a train stop, and a track leading to it in downtown Mobile, is the final infrastructure issue that needs to be addressed before Amtrak can restart passenger trains along the Gulf Coast for the first time in 18 years, officials say.

Mobile is the only city along the route to New Orleans without infrastructure built to accommodate an Amtrak train. Other cities that are stops along the Gulf Coast route – Pascagoula, Biloxi, Gulfport, and Bay St. Louis – have train stops or depots ready to go in preparation for Amtrak’s restart.

Read More

Amtrak, Southern Rail Commission, Take Steps to Bring Service Back to the Deep South

Two powerhouses of passenger trail transport — the Southern Rail Commission and Amtrak — said they will seek funding towards one day restoring service along the Interstate 20 corridor between Fort Worth and Meridian, Miss., a 500-mile link that has been dormant for decades.

“This has the potential to be the first new Amtrak service of its kind in more than 25 years and it would come in an area that has long been underserved by passenger rail,” SRC Chairman Knox Ross said in a press release announcing the effort to get Federal Railroad Administration funding for a study.

Read More

Coastal Mississippi could see growth in tourism with new Amtrak train route

Amtrak is preparing to resume passenger operations across Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, which has been unavailable since Hurricane Katrina disrupted the route in 2005. The route will operate between New Orleans and Mobile, stopping in four Mississippi cities along the way. Southern Rail Commissioner Knox Ross says this new schedule will be more robust, and Amtrak is finalizing several necessities before the new service can begin.

“Conductors and engineers are getting themselves familiar with the route and learning all the different intricacies of running a passenger train on that route. And that will be going on for quite some time,” says Ross. “There’s about seven crews to qualify, and each one of those crews takes about six weeks I’m told.”

Read More

A New Amtrak Route Between Dallas and New York Could Be Closer Than You Think

Rail enthusiasts may soon have a new option for exploring the United States. 

Amtrak recently announced a partnership with the Southern Rail Commission to explore extending rail service connecting New York City, Atlanta, and Dallas/Fort Worth via the I-20 Crescent train line. According to the rail line, this idea has been in development for over 20 years, and only since the recent passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has it been able to take a step forward into possible existence. 

Read More

Amtrak, Southern Rail Commission welcome news of CP-KCS merger

The merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern may be a union of two freight railroads, but it is likely to matter for passenger railroading, as well.

Amtrak had formally supported the railroads’ merger application before the Surface Transportation Board. That reflected CP’s backing for passenger operations between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La. [see “Canadian Pacific commits to New Orleans-Baton Rouge passenger train …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 8, 2021] and support for a study of a Meridian, Miss.,-Fort Worth, Texas, section of the New York-New Orleans Crescent [see “Amtrak seeks expansion …,” News Wire, March 10, 2023 ] And CP has a solid record handling Amtrak trains, having received an A grade in the passenger operator’s most recent host railroad report card.

Read More

Curious Louisiana: what's happening with the much-discussed Baton Rouge to New Orleans passenger rail service?

This week in Curious Louisiana, reader Tommy Thompson has his attention turned firmly to the rails.

"Regarding the new passenger rail service between Baton Rouge and New Orleans: have you heard any updates?" he writes. "Is it still a go? Will the locomotives be diesel or electric? Where will station(s) be located in New Orleans and Baton Rouge?"

Read More

Amtrak, Southern Rail Commission to seek funding for Crescent route expansion

Amtrak and the Southern Rail Commission (SRC) will jointly apply for federal funds to study a proposed extension of a passenger-rail route across Mississippi and Louisiana to Texas along Interstate 20.

Extending Amtrak’s Crescent train service has been under consideration for more than 20 years. But the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021 created the opportunity to study expanded long-distance service, Amtrak and SRC officials said in a press release.

Read More