On October 22, 2024, a significant milestone was reached for the Gulf Coast region with the groundbreaking ceremony for the Amtrak Gulf Coast Corridor Improvement Project in Mobile, AL. This event marked the beginning of the restoration of passenger rail service between Mobile, AL and New Orleans, LA.
Rail service along the line was disrupted by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which caused significant damage to the rail infrastructure along the Gulf Coast. The damage disrupted passenger rail service, and Amtrak’s Sunset Limited route, which previously served the region, was suspended. While freight rail service was eventually restored, passenger rail service remained suspended due to various factors.
The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by various high-ranking officials, including U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose, and Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson. The event celebrated a bipartisan effort to bring passenger rail service back to the Gulf Coast, made possible by funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which was signed into law in 2021 and aims to improve the nation’s infrastructure by investing in various sectors, including among others, transportation.
On October 24, 2024, Amtrak filed a motion with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to dismiss Amtrak’s March 16, 2021 application, stating that the terms of its settlement agreement with CSX and NS have been fulfilled. Amtrak’s 2021 application requested the STB allow Amtrak passenger trains to operate over CSX and NS rail lines along the Gulf Coast between Mobile, AL and New Orleans, LA.
Amtrak passenger rail service along the Gulf Coast is currently projected to be back in service some time in 2025.
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