MOBILE, Ala. — Resistance to helping fund Gulf Coast Amtrak service remains among Mobile City Council members ahead of an expected Jan. 28 vote on a financial commitment by the city.
Earlier this week, a three-member council finance committee failed to recommend support for a resolution which would commit the council to provide money toward operating expenses for the proposed New Orleans-Mobile service, AL.com reports.
Five council members must support the letter of intent to provide up to $3 million over a three-year period to support the rail service, which could begin in 2023. [See “Mobile city council to vote on financial support for proposed Gulf Coast Amtrak service,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 18, 2019]. The vote on that commitment has been delayed once, but a decision must come by Feb. 5, the deadline to match a grant from the Federal Railroad Administration.
The states of Mississippi and Louisiana have already dedicated funding to the project, and Amtrak has committed $6 million toward capital improvements, but Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has so far declined to support the project.
