Passenger Rail From Louisiana Delayed – What We Learned Tuesday

There could be a day in the very near future when a family could board an Amtrak train in Lake Charles, Lafayette, or New Iberia Louisiana, and just a few hours later be sitting on a beach in Lower Alabama or the Florida Panhandle. It's a service that used to be available for Louisiana train enthusiasts but Hurricane Katrina put a stop to that back in 2005.

It's been almost 20 years since Katrina severely damaged the rails and the bridges between New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. And because of that damage passenger rail service has not been available between those two cities since the storm damaged the infrastructure.

In recent years Amtrak has been pushing hard, along with help from the Southern Rail Commission to re-establish passenger service along the Gulf Coast. In the past two years, Amtrak trains have been running "training runs" along the route between New Orleans and Mobile. There are several cities in Mississippi that have stepped up and rebuilt, revitalized, or constructed new stations ahead of the anticipated train service.

What's The Hold Up? Why Isn't Passenger Rail Available on the Gulf Coast?

For the answer to that question you'd need to speak with members of the Mobile, Alabama City Council. They met on Tuesday with Amtrak officials and others close to the project to discuss the financial feasibility of putting a train station back in Mobile.

The council members also discussed the city's commitment of $3 million in operating funds the city would need to provide over the first three years of the rail service. In Mississippi and Louisiana, the state governments have agreed to help out with the funding but in Alabama, the state has left Mobile solely responsible for coming up with money.

There are reports the City of Mobile could revisit that request with the state since the rail project would include several upgrades to infrastructure in and around the city of Mobile including the port area. The Mayor of Mobile, Sandy Stimpson, noted that the improvements would still last and be available even if the rail service did not last.

What is even more frustrating for those who support passenger rail across the Gulf Coast is that some $178 million in federal money has already been approved for the project through the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement grants the money can't be granted until all the agreements on the project are in place.

So, in other words, the City Council of Mobile is once again holding up the project. But at least council members are talking and since no action was really taken during Tuesday's meeting with Amtrack and other rail officials, they'll probably have to meet a few more times until the project is approved or left for some other state governments to snap up the federal funding and leave Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama once again wondering what might have been.