Amtrak To Return Next Year

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari, Wiley Blankenship of the Southern Rail Commission and Stephen McNair of the Southern Rail Commission, speak to members of the local media following the vote. | image by John Sharp via al.com

Amtrak is to resume passenger service along the Gulf Coast early next year, AL.com recently reported. The service is to connect New Orleans and Mobile with four stops in Mississippi: Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula. Breaking a 16-year hiatus of passenger train service in the region, the decision is the fruit of yearlong negotiations with Amtrak, CSX Corp. and Norfolk Southern. It also follows the companies’ study into how passenger train service may affect freight operations. Amtrak is to provide more details at the Southern Rail Commission’s meeting on March 5. For now, local freight railroads have been asked to provide feedback on the passenger service’s practicality for them, which has been a point of contention in prior related talks.