MOBILE, Ala. — Two ongoing questions about Amtrak’s Gulf Coast service — when it will begin and what the New Orleans-Mobile trains will be called — remained unanswered during a Tuesday, Oct. 22, groundbreaking ceremony for a station platform and layover track in Mobile.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Federal Railroad Administration Administrator Amit Bose were among officials on hand for the ceremony at the former site of Mobile’s Amtrak station, destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Acknowledging the lengthy process of restarting the train, Buttigieg told AL.com there is a need for a better way to “align our processes” in dealing with multiple layers of government as well as private companies. Amtrak announced in 2021 that it planned to start the service the following year, although that was a unilateral announcement the company said was driven by five years of negotiations without a conclusion [see “Amtrak seeks to start New Orleans-Mobile service …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 26, 2021]. A case before the Surface Transportation Board, a still-confidential agreement between Amtrak and the host railroads, and lengthy negotiations with Mobile over the station site and funding have all contributed to pushing back the start of service, now projected for some time in 2025.
“My experience is the more players involved, the longer it takes to do something,” Buttigieg said. “You have a situation here that is multi-state, public and private, federal and local, and each layer means you have to go through more folks to get a decision.”
The groundbreaking was for a 3,000-foot siding for Amtrak trains and a station platform but not a station itself; Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson told Al.com the city has a design to pursue but will wait to see if Amtrak service succeeds.
“If we have a real need for it, then we’ll spend the money at that time,” Stimpson told the news site. “I will take city money and grant money. The prudent thing is to make sure the thing is successful.”
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