AL: When will the train arrive? In Mobile, a vexing question surfaces over Amtrak’s Gulf Coast return

It’s been 43 days since the Mobile City Council gave the “All Aboard!” for a long-stalled and debated Amtrak project connecting the Alabama coastal city with New Orleans.

Hopes were high for Amtrak’s Gulf Coast return in time for the Super Bowl following the council’s vote to support a $3.064 million expenditure for the train’s operations. By Halloween, the public would know the name of the train.

But those dates seem elusive, and the return of the train remains largely unknown.

Amtrak says utility relocation and construction deployment updates are best answered by CSX Transportation, the freight operator along much of the Gulf Coast route including in Mobile. CSX has, in turn, said it won’t provide updates until after a variety of agreements and permits are finalized. And the City of Mobile says they are awaiting an executed agreement from Amtrak, while remaining in the dark over timelines.

“It’s very frustrating to work through it all,” said Knox Ross, chair of the Southern Rail Commission – the government agency that has long advocated for the state-supported Gulf Coast route that includes two daily trips between Mobile and New Orleans with four stops in coastal Mississippi. “I was a mayor for 16 years and I have some experience in dealing with federal bureaucracy and all of that. But this has kind of been bureaucracy on steroids. It’s been tough. You just have to be patient, and that’s been the hardest thing.”

A city spokesperson says CSX’s activity could begin by year’s end, but proponents say it could be by the spring of 2025 before the trains roll. If that happens, two significant events – Super Bowl LIX at the Ceasar Superdome in New Orleans on Feb. 6, 2025; and Mardi Gras celebrated by both cities culminating in Fat Tuesday celebrations on March 4, 2025 – could be a lost opportunity.

“We are still hopeful to get something done to run a train before the Super Bowl,” Ross said. “There is a lot going on under the surface.”

Council wants details

Council members are starting to wonder, and some are hoping an update is forthcoming. While no update is scheduled for the council, there could be details provided during a 9 a.m. SRC meeting on Friday.

“I’d like to know what it would be and to, at least, be given an idea on the construction schedule and the timeline on when we can expect to see the trains down the track,” said Councilman William Carroll, who represents downtown Mobile. “There are always details and things that have to be handled on the pre-construction side before you know your true start dates. I expect some delays. But I don’t know how long that will be.”

Councilman Ben Reynolds, who previously raised doubts about the viability of the Amtrak project, said it “makes sense” for an update to be given. He said he can understand why there might be delays in moving the project forward, given that the agreements need to be executed with also the states of Louisiana and Mississippi.

“I think it would be helpful for the citizens to have (Amtrak), at some point, come in and tell us what they should expect and when the routes will start. I know they have many boxes to check.”

Councilman Joel Daves, who voted to support the Amtrak operations but has also long been a skeptic of the passenger rail operations, added, “I’m confident that Amtrak will be moving as rapidly as they possibly can to initiate passenger rail service between Mobile and New Orleans.”

Progress

Indeed, small movements are occurring despite the lack of construction activity in Mobile.

• The Mobile City Council, on Tuesday, granted a permanent nonexclusive easement to CSX Transportation Inc. for the construction of a new rail spur to support the future Amtrak station.
• The Mobile Area Water Works and Sewer System’s board of commissioners awarded a $573,755 contract with Hughes to relocate water lines at the site of the Amtrak stop. According to a MAWSS spokesperson, the utility will begin its work “as soon as the contract is executed, and the CSX flag man is scheduled.” The FRA will also have a professional archaeologist monitor the initial excavations to assess what kind of historic artifacts might be uncovered underground.
• A joint status report filed with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) on Sept. 13, suggests that more approvals are to come. Mobile and Amtrak need to work on a temporary construction easement for the train depot, which still needs council approval. Additionally, Amtrak and CSX are continuing to work with the city to secure a land disturbance permit for the track and temporary platform, according to the filing. The STB has been involved in the Gulf Coast rail project since Amtrak filed a case against CSX and Norfolk Southern – the two freight operators along the route – in 2021. The Alabama State Port Authority, which once opposed the project but is now supportive of it, is also a party in the case. An update in the case is scheduled for Nov. 1.

Amtrak, in the STB filing, admitted that details need to be finalized with the Federal Railroad Administration and they are anticipating them to be reached this month. At issue is the release of $178.4 million in a federal Consolidated Rail Infrastructure Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant. The money will go, in part, toward the construction of a new Amtrak platform in downtown Mobile across Water Street from the Exploreum and the construction of the 3,000-foot layover track by CSX. The layover track will move the twice-daily passenger trains off the freight rail mainline.

Ross said the key advantage remains that all three entities with claims on the coastal rail line – Amtrak, CSX, and Norfolk Southern – are all in agreement in support of the project.

The Alabama State Port Authority, which is expected to be bolster with $72 million in rail improvements from the CRISI grant, is also backing the project. The authority’s board of directors voted in June to assist the city by appropriating $1 million toward the operations subsidy.

David Clark, president & CEO with Visit Mobile, said the Amtrak project has been discussed for so long that that having to wait “another month or two” for more details “is what it is.” He said that by November, the train’s name could be publicly released.

“People talk of a March start to be realistic, and it’s kind of right there,” Clark said. “With any luck, it could be sooner. Any bad luck, a little later. Once they start construction on the track or platform, it will be four or so months.”

Does that put an Amtrak train traversing to New Orleans in time for the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras in doubt? “There is opportunity there,” he said. “I still hold hope.”

Ray Lang, vice-president of state-supported services with Amtrak, said in July that he felt a Super Bowl return for Amtrak sounded a bit too ambitious. Lang said at the time that the utility relocation work will be challenging.

Amtrak, in its immediate past, hasn’t given precise timelines for the restart of its state-supported routes. The last time Amtrak started a similar route – the St. Paul, Minn.-to-Chicago Borealis – the operations began on May 21, and only 10 days after Amtrak announced an official start date, according to reports.

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