MOBILE, Ala. — Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson said Tuesday that his city’s funding obligation to support two daily Amtrak round trips could be split equally between Mobile, the state of Alabama, and the Alabama State Port Authority.
As originally reported by AL.com, Stimpson announced Republican Gov. Kay Ivey had dropped her long-standing opposition to provide state funding for Amtrak service. That opposition had left the city on the hook for the $3.045 million to match similar commitments from Louisiana and Mississippi over the first three years of service.
There are some details still to be worked out regarding the timing and exact source of the state funding, according to the AL.com report. It is possible just the city and port could split the first year’s costs.
The operating agreement and a station site lease in Mobile must be executed before $223 million in capacity improvements agreed to by Amtrak, CSX, Norfolk Southern, and the Port of Mobile can commence, with 80% of that amount funded by a federal Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement grant. Negotiations between the city and Amtrak began more than a year ago, but have dragged on since then despite periodic prodding by the Surface Transportation Board [see “Gulf Coast impasse at Mobile remains unresolved: Analysis,” Trains News Wire, March 18, 2024].
It is clear that Mobile’s financial obligation was one factor, but other contentious issues that led to the extended delay have not been disclosed by any of the parties. Unless the STB steps in, this effectively gives Mobile’s city council veto power over any operating conditions it seeks to impose. A formal agreement Amtrak can sign off on still awaits city council approval, and sources tell AL.com that may take up to 60 days to be executed.
In a statement, Amtrak says, “We applaud Mayor Stimpson’s work that has produced the good news from Gov. Ivey and an expansion of our partnership with the State Port Authority. Amtrak and the Southern Rail Commission look forward to the City Council’s upcoming actions on funding and real estate agreements in order to set the stage for track and platform construction to enable twice-daily Amtrak service between Mobile and New Orleans.”
The long-running Gulf Coast saga is into its ninth year, by Amtrak’s accounting, with talks to restore service having begun in 2015, and creation of a Federal Railroad Administration Gulf Coast Working Group in 2017. It has been more than three years since Amtrak unilaterally announced it planned to start service in 2022 [see “Amtrak seeks to start New Orleans-Mobile service …,” News Wire, Feb. 26, 2021], then went to the STB in an effort to compel cooperation by the host railroads [see “Amtrak asks STB to require CSX, NS to allow Gulf Coast service,” News Wire, March 16, 2021].
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