BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. — The status of Amtrak service on the Gulf Coast remains very much undetermined, but that’s not stopping the city of Bay St. Louis: It plans a ceremony today to mark “reactivation” of its Amtrak station, idle since passenger service was halted after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Al.com reports U.S. Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg will attend the 2 p.m. event including groundbreaking for construction work to make the station compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act for the planned return of passenger trains between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala.
“Amtrak expects to be able to run the train,” Knox Ross of the Southern Rail Commission told the news site. “That’s the message being sent.” Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said similar events are planned at station locations along the Gulf Coast route.
CSX and NS declined comment on the event, with CSX spokeswoman Cindy Schild saying the railroad “is focused on the active litigation before the Surface Transportation Board” regarding Amtrak’s request to launch service.
The latest step in the STB case came last week, when Amtrak, the two host railroads, and the Alabama State Port Authority filed supplemental briefs addressing the board’s requests for more information. Those filings reinforced earlier contentions — by Amtrak that the service will not “unreasonably impair” freight traffic [see “Amtrak again argues …,” Trains News Wire, July 29, 2022] and by the railroads and port that the passenger trains would absolutely do so [see “Host railroads tell regulators …,” News Wire, July 29, 2022].
And meanwhile here in Alabama the city of Mobile hasn’t done anything in regards to a station. And our gov’na MeMaw has declared no money for the passenger trains. What Amtrak should do is turn the trains on the wye in Pascagoula and forget Mobile altogether.