Amtrak Sunset East Reactivation Proposal (Including City of New Orleans Extension)

[railgeekteen]

So when is the target completion date for this?

[Tadman]

Given (a) the current political climate; (b) current Amtrak brass policy; (c) the quality of the idea, probably never. This is an unpopular answer to a question nobody asked.

[Jeff Smith]

Update: AL.com

'We need governor's signature': Amtrak's restart in Mobile in Ivey's hands as deadline looms

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey must decide by Wednesday whether the state will make a $5.3 million commitment over three years to bring Amtrak service back to Mobile, connecting the city with New Orleans.

Rail advocates who are pushing for the return of Gulf Coast passenger rail say that Ivey has yet to meet with them and frustrations are mounting.

Said Jerry Gehman, the governor's designee to the 21-member Southern Rail Commission: "On Thursday, this project is dead for Alabama. She's the only one who can do this. Not her chief of staff or the Legislature. We need the governor's signature."

The restarted route would include two Amtrak trains running daily from New Orleans to Mobile with stops in Mississippi towns - Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula.

...

[bostontrainguy]

Funding deadline missed:

https://www.progressiverailroading.com/ ... ice--54959" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Rockingham Racer]

Which goes to show that all it takes is one state to muffle any proposed rail service. The law needs to be changed to prevent this.

[chrsjrcj]

And that's the problem with the under 750 rule. Since the purpose of the Federal government is to regulate interstate commerce, there is no reason for that law. Someone like Senator Wicker (who I believe supports Amtrak), probably could've appropriated the funds to run a Mobile to New Orleans train (I would think Mobile east to Florida would be up to Florida, and FDOT/Tallahassee seems pretty content with Brightline taking the passenger rail lead here).

I'm not sure if any of the cities on the Gulf Coast have the financial means to support the service, without help from the Feds or a state.

[bostontrainguy]

Which goes to show that all it takes is one state to muffle any proposed rail service. The law needs to be changed to prevent this.

Well, the Downeaster travels through New Hampshire and they don't contribute to it even though it serves their cities.

[Jeff Smith]

From the FB group Friends of Sunset Limited

THIS IS MAJOR NEWS!!!

Florida Gulf and Atlantic Railroad, a new subsidiary of International Rail Partners, is taking over the CSX Florida Panhandle Line between Baldwin FL and Pensacola FL. This is almost the entire route through the Panhandle of the proposed Amtrak Gulf Coast Service in Florida.
‎
"The following notice was posted November 6, 2018:
Pursuant to regulations of the Surface Transportation Board, 49 C.F.R. § 1150.32(e), Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad LLC (“FGAR”) hereby notifies employees of CSX Transportation, Inc. (“CSXT”) that FGAR intends to acquire from CSXT and operate the following rail lines: (1) the Tallahassee Subdivision between Baldwin, FL at or near CSXT milepost SP 653.3 and Chattahoochee, FL, at or near CSXT milepost SP 842.5, (2) the P&A Subdivision between Chattahoochee, FL, at or near CSXT milepost 00K810.7 and Pensacola, FL, at or near CSXT milepost 00K651.0, and (3) portions of the Bainbridge Subdivision between Tallahassee, FL, at or near CSXT milepost SLC 52.0 and Attapulgus, GA, at or near CSXT milepost SLC 79.0 (the “Lines”). The total length of the Lines is approximately 373 Miles."

What this portends for us is unclear, except to say that CSX has been and is, very difficult to deal with. maybe another railroad will have a better attitude. Five Gulf Coast counties are sitting on a pile of loot from the BP disaster settlement and if parties are in agreement, perhaps the line could be upgraded with new signaling, station work, etc.

Couple this with the work to take place between Mobile and New Orleans and we could be on to something!

[gokeefe]

Well that's certainly an interesting development ... hopefully they will find a way to move forward. I remain impressed by the depth of the community commitment to this project. Further proof that passenger rail, including Amtrak service, has become a non-partisan issue.

[Jeff Smith]

https://www.mspolicy.org/taxpayers-coul ... -on-coast/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...
Senate Bill 2542, authored by state Sen. Brice Wiggins (R-Pascagoula), would appropriate $4,696,500 toward bringing Amtrak service to the Mississippi Gulf Coast that was ended when Hurricane Katrina made landfall in August 2005.
...
Like many long-distance routes, a new Sunset Limited train that connects Orlando with Los Angeles wouldn’t be profitable and would require annual subsidies from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi taxpayers. Amtrak’s own numbers in its 2015 feasibility study indicate that restoring service from New Orleans to Orlando would result in a $5.48 million loss annually.
...
Just running a roundtrip, standalone train from Mobile to New Orleans would yield a loss of $4 million. Having both a tri-weekly train from Orlando to Los Angeles and a separate round trip service between Mobile and New Orleans connection would result in an annual loss of $9.49 million.

This figure doesn’t include improvements to the rail infrastructure and stations along the route, which would cost, at minimum, $14,718,000 for just the restoration of passenger rail service and $102,954,000 for what the study says is a service level for ongoing operations.
...

[superstar]

It should be noted that the CSX Gulf Coast spin-off fell through.

[gokeefe]

Chipping away at it ... Unusually patient strategy for the federal level ...

[Jeff Smith]

ADMIN: For Gulf Coast service NO to Mobile, AL: viewtopic.php?f=46&t=169769

[Backshophoss]

That Spin off of the CSX fla panhandle lines has happened,the FG&A now exists.
Still need to deal with CSX for the rest of the route.

[dgvrengineer]

The current proposed service to Mobile would only run on CSX not the new spin-off company, am I correct?