Aug. 27—GULFPORT — Amtrak passenger trains are still six months or so away, yet excitement is building for their return and the business the excursions could bring to South Mississippi.
U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker stopped Tuesday at Pop Brothers store in Gulfport to speak about the economic impact of the train service.
"We expect the service to begin early next year," Wicker said. Getting the trains running in time for the Super Bowl on Feb. 9 at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, though, "would be a stretch," Wicker said.
He expects the train service to boost tourism and reduce traffic on South Mississippi roadways. Two trains will run round-trip twice a day from New Orleans to Mobile, with stops to load and unload passengers in Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula.
A tentative schedule has trains leaving Gulfport at 8:10 a.m. and returning at 6:10 p.m., and leaving Biloxi at 7:45 a.m. and returning at 5:45 p.m., for those who want to commute to New Orleans for business or fun.
Wicker said it's time people on the Gulf Coast have the option of passenger rail service. The trains haven't run since the infrastructure was damaged by Hurricane Katrina 19 years ago, and before that were unreliable.
"We didn't make it work very well back then, quite frankly," Wicker said.
"This is going to be a winner," he said.
Ready to go
Platforms are already built and ready for passengers in New Orleans and the Coast cities.
Wicker said he expects a lot of people in Louisiana and Alabama will take the opportunity to ride the trains and visit South Mississippi.
"This should really help business," Wicker said.
Octavio and Shannon Arzola, the owners of Pop Brothers, agree.
"We get lots of tourists all year from all parts of the U.S. and beyond," Shannon said. Getting more people arriving in Gulfport at the platform adjacent to their store should boost business for their fruit pops and at their new Tavi's sandwich shop across the street, which they are opening in a few weeks.
Nostalgia and fun
The novelty and nostalgia of train travel is generational, said Gulfport Mayor Billy Hewes.
Parents and grandparents will be able to take kids who never rode a train before on an excursion to the Mississippi Aquarium in Gulfport or to tour the USS Alabama battleship in Mobile.
When an exhibit train with Wicker and other dignitaries onboard ran across the Coast in 2016, they were met by young and old and even brass bands in each city.
"I think all of us were amazed at the crowds," Wicker said.
The scope of how the trains will impact the Coast are still being envisioned. Kristen Garriga, director of Gulfport Main Street, said the promise of trains is bringing investors to town, and new restaurants and shops are opening. Gulfport will market to prospective train passengers by releasing a map of the places they might want to visit, she said, and a list of upcoming events, like Cruisin' The Coast auto show and Harbor Lights Christmas spectacular.
"Gulfport's a fun place to be," the mayor said, and it's event oriented. Each Coast city has its own personality and the agreement reached to return Amtrak services means local, state and federal government has skin in the game, he said.
Multiply Gulfport's marketing efforts by that of the other five cities and the three states Amtrak will serve and the economic impact of people coming to the casinos, the beaches and the other attractions stands to be substantial, according to officials.
Amtrak's return wouldn't have happened without Wicker, who is chairman and ranking member of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, said Knox Ross, a member of the Southern Rail Commission.
"He's been a champion," Ross said of Wicker. "He's the guy who didn't give up on it."
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