BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Birmingham and three Mississippi communities will receive Federal Railroad Administration funds from the Southern Rail Commission for station work in preparation for the resumption of Amtrak service between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala.
Birmingham will receive $250,000, while Gulfport, Miss., will receive $246,500; Bay St. Louis, Miss., will receive $270,000; and Pascagoula, Miss., will receive $186,000. The grants require a local match of the same amount.
The funds are to help ensure safe access and better connectivity at the stations, can can be used for such items as lighting, sidewalks, parking areas, and surrounding area development.
“As we anticipate the return of Gulf Coast service in early 2022, I am so proud to provide this funding to these cities which leverages their local investment in preparing their stations to be ready for the return of passenger rail,” Knox Ross, commission chairman, said in a press release. “Local leaders have been committed to these projects and have expressed incredible enthusiasm about the economic growth that passenger rail will bring to our member states and the Gulf Coast.”
Amtrak intends to begin service on the New Orleans-Mobile route in January 2022, but plans are pending a decision by the Surface Transportation Board on Amtrak’s right of access on the route [see “Amtrak asks STB to require CSX, NS to allow Gulf Coast service,” Trains News Wire, March 16, 2021].
Share this article
