When Will the Train to Mobile Arrive?
STB Chair Irked By Failure to Get Service Started 15 Months After Amtrak, Freight Railroads Reach Accord
Amtrak and the Southern Rail Commission (SRC) and have been working since 2015 to bring passenger trains back to Mobile, AL. The coastal city, center of an eponymous SMSA with a population of 426,533, lost service when Amtrak suspended the triweekly Sunset Limited east of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. An operating agreement with the host railroads was reached in November 2022, but almost 15 months later there is still no start-up date, and it is uncertain the trains will ever run.
Amtrak has a lengthy list of unresolved issues. It includes executing agreements with the City of Mobile to lease land for its station and operating support from the city. In addition, the operating agreement and a $148.7 million Federal Railroad Administration grant to pay for infrastructure upgrades need to be completed.
The delay drew the wrath of Surface Transportation Board Chair Martin Oberman at a hearing February 14 in Washington. “It doesn’t take 14 months to negotiate a lease if you wanted to reach an agreement,” he said, “What is going on?”
Oberman chastised Amtrak for claiming the Gulf Coast project remains a “high priority” despite its failure to conclude negotiations in these documents. He also expressed disappointment with the lack of information in a February 1 status update.
The passenger service was to begin in late 2023. Now the timetable calls for a Fall 2024 launch but that date seems unlikely. “It’s hard for me to sit here and say the trains will be operating in October,” Oberman said. “It leaves a lot to be desired to bring this case to conclusion. If people really wanted to make a deal ... it doesn’t take 15 months to make a deal.”
Host railroads, a powerful port authority, and even a state government have put roadblocks in the way of this new Gulf Coast route ever since it was proposed in 2015. These challenges illustrate what Amtrak could be up against in trying to build out its network and realize its strategic vision, even with $66 billion in new funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law enacted in 2021.
The plan for the Gulf Coast route calls for two daily round trips between Mobile and New Orleans, a distance of 145 miles. Trains would also stop in Bay St. Louis, Biloxi, Gulfport, and Pascagoula, Mississippi. The proposed schedule allows three hours and 18 minutes to make the run at an average speed just under 44 miles per hour. However, the trip time could be shortened once planned infrastructure improvements are completed.
According to Amtrak’s 2035 strategic vision statement, Amtrak Connect Us, the trains would generate $45.8 million in economic activity annually plus $643 million from one-time capital improvements. Population growth and tourism are driving demand for the service. Greater New Orleans is approaching its pre-Katrina population, approximately 1.3 million. The Mississippi Gulf Coast is becoming a popular travel destination.
Before the STB could issue its ruling, the parties in November 2022 announced they had reach an agreement and asked the Board to hold off on its decision in contemplation of the case being withdrawn.
There is strong public support for the service from people who live along the route. In a 2019 survey for SRC 75 percent of respondents supported the idea of restoring passenger service between Mobile and New Orleans. Additionally, traffic congestion has been increasing on Interstate 10, which runs parallel to the rail line between the two cities, with lengthy delays when major accidents occur.
Other stakeholders have opposed passenger service. While the states of Louisiana and Mississippi have agreed to subsidize the state-supported route, Alabama declined. The city of Mobile expressed willingness to contribute funds to help cover operating losses. However, it has yet to come to terms with Amtrak and the agreement would need to be approved by a super majority of the city council.
Both CSX and Norfolk Southern, the two freight railroads the trains would run over, want infrastructure upgrades before operations could begin. The Port of Mobile, an economic engine for Gulf Coast region, argued the passenger trains would interfere with cargo handling, making the port less desirable at a time when it is trying to expand intermodal operations.
With negotiations with the freight railroads and Port getting nowhere, in 2021 Amtrak brought the matter before the Surface Transportation Board. However, before the STB could issue its ruling, the parties in November 2022 announced they had reach an agreement and asked the Board to hold off on its decision in contemplation of the case being withdrawn.
That agreement, which is being kept confidential, has yet to be finalized. However, funds have been lined up to substantially upgrade the route. In September 2023 the Federal Railroad Administration announced a $178.4 million CRISI (Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement) grant to fund infrastructure improvements required to resume passenger service.
Louisiana, Mississippi, CSX, Norfolk Southern, the Port of Mobile, and Amtrak will provide $44.6 million in matching funds. This will bring the total raised to $223 million. The figure represents a compromise between the $66 million Amtrak estimated it would need and figures asked for by CSX and Norfolk Southern that ranged between $400 million and $1 billion.
The CRISI award will help pay for grade crossing improvements, new turnouts, bridge upgrades, and siding extensions. The latter will be crucial to timekeeping since, under the guise of PSR (Precision Scheduled Railroading), CSX is running freight trains that are too long to fit on existing sidings.
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-MS, helped arrange for the grant and achieve consensus among the railroads on the amount needed to upgrade the line. In a statement he called the award “a significant milestone, representing years of dedicated efforts to reconnect our communities after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Restoring passenger rail service will create jobs, improve quality of life, and offer a convenient travel option for tourists, contributing to our region's economic growth and vitality.”
Many of the improvement projects can be performed after rail service begins. However, one project must be completed ahead of the start service – construction of a station and storage track for the train. But that cannot happen until Amtrak and the city of Mobile reach a lease agreement for the land where the facilities will be located.
The parties are still negotiating lease terms. They also must agree on how much operating support Mobile will pay for the trains. Both measures will require approval from the City Council by a 5 – 2 supermajority vote. Two council members have been identified as likely to vote against the service. If they are joined by a third member the measure would be defeated and the operating agreement, the CRISI grant, and years of advocacy and negotiation could be for naught.
Still, the issue of the lease and station in Mobile should have been identified and resolved long ago. Amtrak should have known about it beforehand and the city should not have waited for the grant announcement to bring it up.
The delays point a finger at Amtrak’s credibility. If Amtrak is not serious about this route why would governments in other states want to work with it to develop passenger service?
I can’t predict how it will play out now, but this case warrants following over the coming year. Who knows? Maybe the parties will finally get their acts together, which would allow service to begin by the end of 2024. I wouldn’t bet on it.
The saga of the Gulf Coast line illustrates how complicated it can be to initiate passenger rail service in this country and why it can take decades sometimes to get trains running. Stakeholders often have interests that conflict with passenger train operation or they fail to see how they would benefit from having the service.
By addressing objections early in the project development process, rail agencies should be able to proceed faster and avoid costly litigation. Where objections prove insurmountable, they may have to withdraw.
Today’s developments leave me less hopeful about the future of U.S. passenger rail if Amtrak remains in the engineer’s seat. They may talk a good game but without the know-how to put development of new services into Notch 8 a lot of good ideas will be left in the station.
a) One core CSX issue is operational. They run trains one-way for long periods of time. Like they have a narrow street that's one-way, just flip that one-way every so often depending on traffic needs. That's not merely a siding issue but a lack of sidings, quantity, issue. When you run a bunch of trains in the same direction you can get away with it. Amtrak is looking to send a small speedy Miata the wrong way down this narrow street. The infrastructure as it is can't support that.
b) Amtrak has an agreement with Louisiana but not one with Alabama nor Mississippi. Not a single public dollar should be shelled out until these agreements are in place. They're not a 100% guarantee but they're a written commitment to fund operations. Amtrak can only pay for operations for 3 years, after that it has to come from the states. How foolish would it be to spend ~$200M on upgrades only for the train to run for 3 years only to again disappear?
I have family who live right on the corridor. They’ve seen Amtrak test trains. They want the service. It’s idiotic that a city government could block the entire plan.