That’s the message presenters from the Southern Rail Commission, Transportation for America, Amtrak, and the Rail Passengers Association brought to an informational meeting in Mobile on July 12.
The proposed morning and evening service on the 160-mile corridor recently won a $33 million Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement grant. While many civic leaders are proponents of the economic development and tourism aspects of the proposed service, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has expressed reservations of committing her state to the required matching money that both Louisiana and Mississippi have already pledged. Concerns about interference with the port, and Mobile’s cruise-ship terminal, have been prominent.
The presentation outlines exactly what is being proposed, including schedules (slide 29) and equipment (slide 75). It also details specific Alabama capital improvements required based on a route evaluation overseen by the Federal Railroad Administration.
Amtrak and CSX Transportation still have to negotiate specifics, but many of the host railroad’s previous cost estimates were based on bridge-opening assumptions that have since been discounted by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Alabama’s match is $2.2 million for infrastructure and $3.04 million for operating support, yet the presentation outlines how that investment purports to generate more than $40 million in economic benefits from the new service.
The presenters emphasized passenger rail success stories on comparable corridors in other parts of the country for an audience largely unfamiliar with how Maine’s Downeaster, Chicago-Milwaukee Hiawathas, or Virginia’s trains’ fares are priced.
Plans for push-pull operation, a 600-foot platform Mobile station, and a 1,325-foot layover track off of the CSX main line were also revealed.
“Since Katrina, all of the Gulf Coast cities from New Orleans to Mobile have invested in their downtowns – and Mobile’s is especially vibrant,” Southern Rail Commission Vice Chairman Knox Ross tells Trains News Wire. “All they really need is for people to come and take advantage of it – and this is the way to do it.”
