Against the backdrop of an Amtrak train, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg joined Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson and other dignitaries Tuesday in a groundbreaking ceremony marking the construction of the Amtrak layover track and platform for the Gulf Coast Corridor Improvement Project.
The ceremony celebrated a bipartisan effort to bring passenger rail service back to the Gulf Coast. Once the layover track and platform are complete, Amtrak will resume passenger service from New Orleans to Mobile for the first time since 2005.
As part of the project, CSX will add a layover track so that passenger trains do not impact freight operations at the Port of Mobile. Amtrak will also build a new passenger platform on the site of its legacy platform at Cooper Riverside Park on the downtown waterfront. Once the project is complete, Amtrak’s passenger line will connect coastal communities in three states with daily stops in New Orleans, Gulfport, Bay St. Louis, Pascagoula, Biloxi and Mobile.
“This was a tremendous collaborative effort that got us here,” said Stimpson. “It will be a collaborative effort and a bipartisan effort as we go forward.
“I’ve been waiting a long time for this day,” said John Morgan, an Amtrak conductor who introduced Buttigieg. “When they ran that inspection train in 2016, you can bet we were going to take advantage to come to the Gulf Coast when it opened.”
RELATED: Amtrak from Mobile to New Orleans faces three-year trial
“This has been desired for a long time,” Buttigieg said. “You go back to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina when that service was lost, and it’s a full-circle moment, not only restoring it, but making it better than ever because people here living on the Gulf Coast region deserve passenger rail. We’re going to make sure we do all of the above — excellent air service, excellent highway service, and excellent passenger rail service.
“The work we’re doing along the I-10 corridor ranks among the largest projects in our entire portfolio. We have $550 million, and that’s not just a big deal here in Alabama but a big deal for us. We recognize how important it is, not only for people here in Alabama, but for the truck traffic along I-10 that depends on those bridges every day.”
Other officials lauded Tuesday’s groundbreaking.
“To make our goal of doubling ridership by 2040, we need more Amtrak trains, in more places and with more frequency,” said Amtrak President Roger Harris. “That’s one of the reasons we’ve worked so hard with the Southern Rail Commission, the Federal Railroad Administration, and state and federal leaders to bring Amtrak service back to the Gulf Coast, which has been under-served for so long.
“When Amtrak service was here before Katrina, we passed through less than once a day. That’s not enough for the growing population in the region. Our team is as ready as you are to hear us say: “Y’all aboard.”
“We are overjoyed to have Secretary Buttigieg join us today as we officially break ground in Mobile,” said Southern Rail Commission Chairman Knox Ross. “His attendance is both a testament to the Biden Administration’s continued support of rail restoration and expansion projects and a defining moment in the historic effort to restore passenger rail service to communities across the Gulf Coast.”
Ross lauded the efforts and support of other officials such as the late Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran, current Mississippi Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, and Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, and said: “We are almost to the finish line, and we look forward to riding this train in the near future!”
Several months ago, it was doubtful that rail service would come back to Mobile because there were not enough votes on the city council to provide funding. But an updated proposed contract with language that would release the city from providing funding after three years prompted opponents such as Councilmember Josh Woods to change his mind and support the project.
Supporters of the revival of rail service were thrilled. Among them was Ginger Copeland, who, while not part of any organized group to bring rail service back to Mobile, was
“I’m beyond excited that we’re going to finally have rail service between here and New Orleans,” she said. “Not only am I excited that it’s going to be here, but I’m excited about the bi-partisan conglomeration that made this become a reality.”
Copeland said since Hurricane Katrina knocked out rail service through Mobile, she had been waiting for it to come back, though at times she had her doubts.
“There were some times, especially during COVID when everything was in turmoil, it just seemed it wasn’t going to be a reality,” she said. “Now today, it’s a dream come true. I’ve never traveled by trail before, so to be able to come here and be able to travel by train to New Orleans is going to be wonderful.”
Courtesy of Call News.
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.