MOBILE, Ala. — The Mobile City Council, which had been expected to vote today on funding to support the return of Amtrak service to the city, is now likely to delay that decision.
AL.com reports that the vote is likely to be delayed because council members learned a deadline to submit matching funds for a federal grant has been extended to February. The original deadline was Jan. 6, 2020. [See “Mobile city council to vote on financiual support for Gulf Coast Amtrak service,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 18, 2019.]
Mobile is being asked to make a financial commitment of $2 million to $3 million to match federal funds covering operating costs for the first three years of service between New Orleans and Mobile. The decision is independent of at least $2.2 million which must come from an Alabama source for capital improvements before the service could begin.
