Against the backdrop of an Amtrak train, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg joined Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson and other dignitaries Tuesday at a groundbreaking ceremony to mark 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 back to the Gulf Coast. Once the intermediate section and platform are completed, 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 stop so that passenger trains will not impact freight operations at the Port of Mobile. Amtrak will also build a new passenger platform at the site of its old platform at Cooper Riverside Park on the downtown waterfront. Once the project is completed, 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 great collaborative effort that got us here,” Stimpson said. “It will be a collaborative and bipartisan effort as we move forward.
“I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time,” said John Morgan, an Amtrak conductor who introduced Buttigieg. “When they ran that inspection train in 2016, you can bet we were planning on coming to the Gulf Coast when it opened.”
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“This has been wanted 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 the people here who living on the Gulf Coast earn passenger rail service. We’re going to make sure we do all of the above: excellent air services, excellent highway services and excellent passenger rail services.
“The work we are doing along the I-10 corridor is among the largest projects in our entire portfolio. We have $550 million, and that’s not only a big deal here in Alabama, but a big deal for us. We realize how important it is, not only to the people here in Alabama, but to the truck traffic along I-10 that depends on those bridges every day.”
Other officials praised Tuesday’s groundbreaking.
“To achieve 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 underserved for so long.
“When Amtrak service was here before Katrina, we got through less than once a day. That is not enough for the growing population in the region. Our team is as ready as you are to hear us say, “All of you on board.”
“We are thrilled to have Secretary Buttigieg join us today as we officially break ground in Mobile,” said Knox Ross, Chairman of the Southern Rail Commission. “His presence is both a testament to the Biden Administration’s continued support of rail rehabilitation and expansion projects and a defining moment in the historic effort to restore passenger rail service to communities throughout the Gulf Coast..”
Ross praised the efforts and support of other officials, such as late Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran, current Mississippi Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith and Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, saying, “We are almost at the finish line and we look forward to to ride this train in the near future!”
Several months ago, it was in doubt that rail service would return to Mobile because there weren’t 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 like Councilman Josh Woods to change their minds and support the project.
Supporters of the revival of rail transport were elated. Among them was Ginger Copeland, who, while not part of an organized group to bring rail service back to Mobile, was
“I’m beyond excited that we can finally have rail service between here and New Orleans,” she said. “I’m not only excited that it will be here, but I’m excited about the bipartisan conglomerate that made this a reality.”
Copeland said since Hurricane Katrina knocked out rail service through Mobile, she has been waiting for it to return, though she sometimes had her doubts.
“There were times, especially during COVID, when everything was in turmoil, it seemed like it wasn’t going to become a reality,” she said. “Today it is a dream come true. I’ve never traveled by trail before, so it will be great to be able to come here and take the train to New Orleans.”
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