MOBILE, Ala. — Pending approval from the Federal Railroad Administration, Amtrak intends to pay for repairs to station platforms to be used by the Gulf Coast service Amtrak plans to launch in 2022. Vice President of Stations and Accessibility Dr. David Handera told members of the Southern Rail Commission, holding their quarterly meeting on Friday, that was the passenger railroad’s plan for the platforms once used by the eastern extension of the Sunset Limited until it was discontinued following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Separately, in letters sent to the Alabama State Port Authority at its request on March 4, CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern summarized their objections to Amtrak’s intention to begin two round trips next year [see “Amtrak seeks to start New Orleans-Mobile service in 2022,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 26, 2021].
Handera spelled out specific “first phase” improvements Amtrak was prepared to make at four stations in Mississippi — Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Pascagoula, and Biloxi — and a platform in downtown Mobile once used by the Sunset and two short-lived Gulf Coast Limited New Orleans-Mobile trains in the 1980s and 1990s. These include repairs to existing platforms and lighting at all locations except Pascagoula, where a temporary platform would be needed because tracks had been relocated away from the former platform.
“We are working with the FRA on assembling funding sources for the short-term and long-term repairs,” said Handera, who said Amtrak would then construct, “new accessible, well-lit platforms in phase two.”
The communities have received matching station grants from the Southern Rail Commission and will be able direct that money toward improvements other than the platform, such as accessible parking, lighting, bathrooms, and other amenities. Amtrak’s financial and construction involvement is especially significant, because it is in a better position to orchestrate right-of-way flagging and build platforms that are Americans with Disabilities Act compliant.
Amtrak plans to make improvements at the current Mobile location, but Handera was noncommittal if an FRA-mandated station alternatives analysis concludes that a permanent stop should be constructed away from downtown at Brookley Airport. The city has yet to fund its share of that analysis [see “Digest: Mobile councilman calls Amtrak ‘joy ride for affluent’ …,” News Wire, Feb. 19, 2021].
The Alabama State Port Authority has urged completion of that study, as well as the Rail Traffic Controller modeling of the CSX and NS route. Amtrak declined to continue it when no results had been produced after a year.
Software upgrade makes “much of the prior work unusable”
At the meeting, Amtrak Senior Director of Host Railroads Jim Blair elaborated why: “We worked diligently but had a lot of delays right off the bat; the RTC modeling was supposed to take seven months but into December [2020] we weren’t progressing. Then in January, the consultant came back to us and said that much of the work that had been done was not usable because there was a modification to the software. That was actually implemented in February of this year, and that made much of the prior work unusable.”
He added, “After spending all that money and effort, and the fact that it really wasn’t getting us any closer to startup that we had hoped to have, that agreement ultimately expired.” He said they have invited the host railroads’ feedback on Amtrak’s efforts to start the service in 2022.
Trains News Wire has learned all parties agreed to not discuss details of negotiations while they were in progress, but Blair’s explanation sheds more light on why Amtrak didn’t want to wait any longer.
The solicited letter CSX Assistant VP of Passenger Operations Andy Daly sent to the Alabama State Port Authority urges completion of the RTC modeling and does not indicate whether the railroad plans to continue discussions without it, as Amtrak has suggested.
Daly notes that there have been three separate modeling studies since 2016, “but none have modeled this new twice-daily roundtrip between New Orleans and Mobile.” Technically, that’s true, but the other studies did model two daily round trips, with one continuing past Mobile to Orlando, Fla.
Norfolk Southern, whose double-tracked right-of-way in New Orleans comprises about 5 miles of the 140-mile route, also insists that “the RTC analysis is critical for the success of the proposed passenger service” in a letter from John Edwards, NS’ General Director of Passenger Policy.
If Amtrak and the host railroads are unable to resolve issues, the conflict is likely headed to the Surface Transportation Board.
At a Chicago-based Environmental Law and Policy Center webinar on Friday, STB Board Chairman Martin Oberman told the group, “If a freight railroad is denying Amtrak access to their tracks, the statutes make it clear we have the power to order such access and the terms of it.”
Of course we’ll pay for it. Just like every other good idea and every other birdbrain knucklehead idea. You take the good with bad and try to fix the bad ones. It’s no mystery.
“Amtrak intends to pay for repairs to station platforms to be used by the Gulf Coast service Amtrak plans to launch in 2022.” Not exactly. Given Amtrak loses a ton of money each year, the taxpayers will be footing the bill for the repairs to the station platforms to be used by the Gulf Coast service.