The Southern Rail Commission released the following statement today in response to Amtrak’s announcement that it will be filing a petition with the Surface Transportation Board:
“We lost passenger rail service along the gulf coast fifteen years ago when Hurricane Katrina damaged the rails and while those tracks have been repaired, passenger rail did not restart. Congress directed the FRA to lead an analysis to determine everything it would take to return service, and the SRC worked with the FRA to deliver that report in 2017 which identified $66 million in infrastructure needs. We have that funding now secured and we are ready to move forward,” said Knox Ross, Mississippi SRC Commissioner. “Our local communities are frustrated by all the years of studying and waiting, and we are hoping this public and transparent process will resolve all outstanding issues so that service can begin soon.”
The STB is a federal independent board established by Congress with regulatory oversight over rail systems and their business relationships to protect the interest of all users of surface transportation networks and to resolve disputes when they cannot be resolved by other means. Amtrak has the right of access to operate passenger service along the gulf coast corridor and has requested that the STB expedite their application to support their intent to start service between Mobile and New Orleans in January 2022. The STB will make a determination whether they will hold a hearing or find another way to reach a resolution.
Congress created the Gulf Coast Working Group in the 2015 federal transportation reauthorization called FAST Act to perform an exhaustive study on restoring the service, which was a process administered by the FRA. The GCWG report was completed in July 2017 identifying FRA’s priority infrastructure projects along the gulf coast. In June 2019, SRC was awarded a $33 million federal grant through the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program to complete major infrastructure and capital improvements necessary for expanded freight capacity and service restoration. These federal grants also leverage matching commitments from the States of Louisiana and Mississippi for a total of $66 million in funding available to allow Amtrak to move ahead with launching daily passenger service between New Orleans and Mobile.