Restoration of New Orleans - Mobile - Jacksonville Gulf Coast Service

[Rail Freak]

For me, the flying to/from cities to take western trains isn't entirely a connectivity issue, it's also because we Floridians are limited in our routes in & out, which can get monotonous. Then take into consideration the food service changes on the SS, CL, & LSL, I just decided to fly & save AGR Points!!!

 

[DonNewcomb]

The mid west to Florida direct ? Any direct route is going to be slower than desired. It is all about geography. ....

The old L&N Humming Bird ran east out of New Orleans to Flomaton on the Fla/Ala line then turned straight north to Chicago. Maybe that's not what you mean by "Florida"?

 

[dogbert617]

For me, the flying to/from cities to take western trains isn't entirely a connectivity issue, it's also because we Floridians are limited in our routes in & out, which can get monotonous. Then take into consideration the food service changes on the SS, CL, & LSL, I just decided to fly & save AGR Points!!!

It's too bad from Florida that there aren't any direct routes in and out of that state, except for the 2 Silver trains. I guess one from that state could fly to NOLA and ride the *CONO or Sunset north and west from there, or to say like Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, etc to ride the Texas Eagle?

Too bad the Palmetto starts/ends in Savannah. Since otherwise, that'd be a way to ride the Silver Meteor route in daytime. Unless you do a stopover in Savannah, ride Palmetto north, then ride a Silver train back to Florida. And of course, one could transfer in NC west to one of those state trains, then board Crescent southwest.

 

[jis]

Some Gulf Coast news. Pensacola to Baldwin is now a Short Line operation. Apparently Amtrak has reduced the hope level for passenger service on that segment for the local folks...

https://news.wfsu.org/post/florida-gulf-and-atlantic-assumes-ownership-north-florida-rail-line

 

[chrsjrcj]

The state of Florida has no issue spending billions on new toll roads and double decking highways, but shudder at the idea of funding more than the minimum for decent transit.

 

[jis]

The state of Florida has no issue spending billions on new toll roads and double decking highways, but shudder at the idea of funding more than the minimum for decent transit.

Yeah. FDOT has never come across a highway interchange idea that it did not like. Very incongruously though all their divided highways designs include a right of way that is wide enough to accommodate at least a double track railway or other guideway. That is what made it relatively easy for VTUSA to get easements along the highways without spending too much money on land acquisition upto Orlando and now apparently between Orlando and Tampa too. But gd forbid if they have to fund any guideway based transportation! It is a strange animal.

 

[DonNewcomb]

Some Gulf Coast news. Pensacola to Baldwin is now a Short Line operation. Apparently Amtrak has reduced the hope level for passenger service on that segment for the local folks...

IMHO, unless the section between Mobile and P'cola were to be completely re-engineered, it stood little chance. The combination of that wiggle up to Folmaton and back down again, combined with the lack of PTC was just too much. The route being so far from the beach, which is what would attract most travelers, didn't help either.

 

[velotrain]

Movement but the light at the end of tunnel is not a train.

This reminded me of an old New Yorker cartoon which shows a dejected looking man walking into a tunnel with the portal behind him in the distance.
"On discovering that the light at the end of the tunnel is New Jersey."

 

[west point]

Dorian could mean the end of the route now that CSX has sold it. Too early to tell yet!

 

[railiner]

Dorian could mean the end of the route now that CSX has sold it. Too early to tell yet!

What would be cool, would be if the UP bought the route...they could then improve it enough to run Los Angeles/Jacksonville double stack "land bridge" trains, that would be serious competition for the Panama Canal....
But then, not sure if they would welcome Amtrak back to the route...

 

[jis]

I have not checked for myself, but apparently land bridge trains are not price competitive with Panamax Super Container ships. What the railroads in the east are trying to do is to compete for Containers carried by Panamax ships for the land part of its journey to its final destination in the east coast.

There is great concern that ports like Miami may lost out to ports like Savannah, and Norfolk, and even Port of Elizabeth etc in the NY/NJ area because the offloading is closer to the major markets and requires less ground transport.

 

[NativeSon5859]

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_r...cle_8c4aaece-ca9b-11e9-93c2-6b57573c9745.html

Federal grant received for first year of NOL-MOE operations.

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

$4.36 million grant to cover initial operating expenses from New Orleans to Mobile, Alabama.

Excellent some operation money, some capital funds. Still seem to be a bit underwhelming, hopefully the states might jump in now.

 

[DonNewcomb]

More local reporting: https://www.sunherald.com/news/local/article234512752.html

 

[DonNewcomb]

Council members are scheduled to vote Tuesday on whether to commit as much as $3 million over three years to operate Amtrak trains through the city.
https://www.wxxv25.com/2019/12/30/leaders-mobile-alabama-vote-funding-amtrak-service/

 

[Amtrakfflyer]

Unfortunately not holding my breath. Hope for the best all the same.

Council members are scheduled to vote Tuesday on whether to commit as much as $3 million over three years to operate Amtrak trains through the city.
https://www.wxxv25.com/2019/12/30/leaders-mobile-alabama-vote-funding-amtrak-service/

 

[chrsjrcj]

Has there been any local advocacy efforts? If you live in the city, it probably wouldn’t hurt to call their offices.

 

[DonNewcomb]

Birmingham-Montgomery-Mobile Intercity Passenger Rail Feasibility Study

 

[DonNewcomb]

Rather disappointing news.

Leaders in Alabama’s port city of Mobile are dimming chances for reviving passenger train service along the northern Gulf Coast.

Member of the City Council’s finance committee withheld support for funding service through Alabama’s port city during a meeting Tuesday. Al.com reported the full council could vote on the issue next week.

Amtrak hasn’t operated along the coast since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The Southern Rail Commission supports restarting passenger trains between Mobile and New Orleans with stops in Mississippi.

Louisiana and Mississippi have approved funding to restart the trains, but Alabama hasn’t. Officials at the Alabama State Port say passenger trains could disrupt freight service through the port, and city leaders including Mayor Sandy Stimpson have expressed concerns.

“There is a lot that needs to be explained before I can support it,” said council member Joel Daves, chairman of the finance committee.

Mobile is being asked to commit as much as $3 million over three years to pay for Amtrak service starting in 2023, when Amtrak service is expected to resume. The city commitment doesn’t include potential capital costs to upgrade the existing rail line. An additional $2.2 million is needed from an Alabama-based source to finance those improvements, but Gov. Kay Ivey isn’t backing the project.

Mississippi has dedicated $15 million, Louisiana has approved $10 million and Amtrak has set aside $6 million toward capital improvements along the rail line. The project faces a deadline of Feb. 5 for getting local funding to match federal funding.

Sorry for the double posting. This is where I wanted to post this article the other post had received replies by the time I relocated this thread.

 

[Greg]

This whole charade has been one of the biggest fiasco dog and pony shows that I have seen in my 61 years. Amtrak is not coming back to the gulf coast and they need to quit wasting the money dangling carrots before us.

 

[Amtrakfflyer]

That can be said for the majority of Red States at this point in time. It’s up to their citizens to vote different officials in if they want a change.

Look at VA the past few years the people spoke at the ballet box and one of the many changes is a robust rail system coming.

Unfortunately I see another decade to a full generation before most Red State citizens stop voting against what most outsiders would say is their best interests.

This whole charade has been one of the biggest fiasco dog and pony shows that I have seen in my 61 years. Amtrak is not coming back to the gulf coast and they need to quit wasting the money dangling carrots before us.

 

[neroden]

The city which would benefit most from the route is Mobile, and their city council apparently can't be bothered? Seems typical of the self-destructive attitude I associate with the Deep South.

 

[Qapla]

Tallahassee and Jacksonville are both supportive of restoring Amtrak from NOL to JAX - which includes all those places in between, like Mobile ... even Amtrak "says" they are in favor of it - they even ran a train through the route a few years ago tying to get support. Alabama and the freight lines have been part of the "sticking" problems in restoring this route.

 

[nullptr]

Maybe not as hopeless as it seems?


Mobile mayor says he expects to ‘get to yes’ on city-funded Amtrak service

https://www.fox10tv.com/news/mobile...cle_c41cf7ac-42e2-11ea-912f-b7e30c738c76.html

 

[Palmland]

The city which would benefit most from the route is Mobile, and their city council apparently can't be bothered? Seems typical of the self-destructive attitude I associate with the Deep South.

While far from perfect, especially in regard to reducing poverty, the Deep South seems to be out pacing other parts of the country, especially the rust belt states, as industry and those leaving high tax states head south. As population continues to grow, funding Amtrak will become more important.