Railroad Forums 

  • Gulf Breeze Mobile - Birmingham - Huntsville - Chattanooga Past and Future?

  • Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.
Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman

 #1049952  by Jeff Smith
 
Breeze Redux? I think this would help the Crescent below Atlanta a lot. Let's see if freight plays ball.

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/art ... CFrontpage

Brief, fair-use quote:
The city, working in conjunction with the state, is moving forward with a study to determine if it’s feasible to re-open a passenger railroad line connecting Birmingham, Montgomery and Mobile.

In 2009, the Alabama Department of Economic and Community and Community Affairs (ADECA) received a $200,000 matching grant from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to fund the study, which will look at ridership, revenue and whether the line would share the existing tracks between Montgomery and Birmingham or build new ones.

...

Robert Smith, Montgomery’s director of planning, said the first part of the study will look at a Birmingham-to-Montgomery connection, and will cost $200,000. The grant will cover half, Birmingham will contribute $50,000, the city of Montgomery will contribute $30,000 and Montgomery County will contribute $20,000.

Phase II of the study will determine the feasibility of connecting Montgomery to Mobile, Smith said. The project will cost $200,000 and will depend on Mobile’s willingness to contribute.

...

The 275-mile line, which opened in 1989 and closed in 1995, was part of the Crescent Corridor, which starts in New York and goes to Washington, North Carolina, South Carolina, Atlanta, Birmingham and ends in New Orleans.
 #1073617  by Jeff Smith
 
$100k for a study (with 2 matching contributions). What I find interesting is if Sunset East is ever restored, this could/would be a connection.

http://www.progressiverailroading.com/a ... ama--32127
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has obligated $100,000 to study whether Amtrak service should be restored along a route between Birmingham, Montgomery and, possibly, Mobile, Ala.

The grant was issued in response to an application from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. The study will cover cost and ridership analyses, stakeholder outreach and planning to assess the feasibility of service between Birmingham and Montgomery, FRA officials said in a prepared statement.

Those two cities will contribute an additional $100,000 for the study. The analyses will help determine the feasibility of extending the study to Mobile, and proceed with preparation of a service development plan, environmental review and preliminary design, FRA officials said.
 #1352818  by Jeff Smith
 
From the same article I linked in the Sunset thread: AL.com
Other objectives

The rail commission is also eyeing a possible passenger line between Montgomery and Mobile that would connect to Birmingham. That, too, is being studied.

For Mobile, such a scenario is a "perfect world," said Blankenship, of the Coastal Alabama Partnership. The city, he said, would find itself with north-south and east-west connections. "Mobile is a winner," he said.
 #1352881  by MattW
 
Why not continue on to Huntsville? It seems a nearly straight shot on the existing line along I-65 to Decatur, then an even straighter shot over into Huntsville.
 #1352888  by Noel Weaver
 
In order for anything to happen here most likely a good deal of state support will have to come forth and I suppose there is some chance of this but most southern states do not support rail passenger service in general with the exception of Virginia and North Carolina. Anything is possible but probably not too likely.
Noel Weaver
 #1355521  by Tom6921
 
If equipment wasn't a problem and there was enough funding to get the train going, would a resurrected Floridian be profitable. How much of the former route is rated for passenger traffic?
 #1355524  by Backshophoss
 
Believe most of former train # 56/57 route is now freight only,Good luck trying to get CN and CSX to play along on
a revival of that routing. Maybe a Chicago - Indy - Atlanta - Birmingham - into Florida routing might "fly" with a
little help from NS...
 #1359343  by Tom6921
 
Awhile ago, I saw a documentary on the Bayou Canot Sunset accident and it appeared as if the equipment from the Gulf Breeze was brought up to the accident site. Was it used to ferry investigators to the site and/or survivors back to Mobile?
 #1403262  by Jeff Smith
 
In the news: AL.com

Huntsville? Not so sure about that, but there's more to this article than just that. I'll add this article to separate topics on other studies.

Here's a link to the Breeze study: http://www.adeca.alabama.gov/Divisions/ ... _FINAL.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Alabama cities jockey for Amtrak's attention

Amtrak's possible return to the Gulf Coast isn't the only wish-list item for passenger rail in Alabama. Huntsville wants to hop aboard as well.

The Rocket City's interest in passenger rail comes at a time when discussion about restoring Amtrak's Gulf Breeze line between Birmingham and Mobile is steaming ahead.

"They don't want to be left out of the conversation," said Greg White, an Andalusia accountant who chairs the 21-member Southern Rail Commission that was formed by Congress in 1982 to advocate for passenger rail service and pursue grants and other funding to support its mission.

Huntsville's foray into passenger rail would piggyback off a 2013 study into restoring Amtrak service from Birmingham to Montgomery. A similar study to restore passenger rail from Montgomery to Mobile could be under way next month.
 #1403269  by Gilbert B Norman
 
Huntsville, really?

Huntsville is equidistant give or take about 100 miles South of Nashville and same North of Birmingham. It's on the L&N route of the Humming Bird, and hasn't seen a passenger train since A-Day.

How do these consultants plan to serve Huntsville; enquiring mind wants to know.
 #1403655  by Dreezy
 
Gilbert B Norman wrote:It's on the L&N route of the Humming Bird, and hasn't seen a passenger train since A-Day.
I'm not sure when Hunstville itself last saw a passenger train, but the Floridian continued to call (usually like 16 hours after it was supposed to, admittedly, but still) at nearby Decatur all the way up until the Carter Cuts. Looks like the old SR station still stands, but I've no idea whether it's serviceable or occupied today.

http://www.trainweb.org/usarail/decatural.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Railway_Depot_(Decatur,_Alabama" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)
http://www.timetables.org/browse/?group ... &item=0041" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 #1403659  by John_Perkowski
 
Just a reminder:

The Carter cuts are so old, they could have had a kid at age 22, and he'd be 14 now... 36 years isn't yesterday.