Gulf Coast rail service restoration ‘realistic in 3 to 5 years'
By BRIAN HUGHES 682-6524 | @cnbBrian brianh@crestviewbulletin.com
CRESTVIEW, FL
The Southern Rail Commission may expand membership eastward as Amtrak considers restoring Gulf Coast passenger rail service between New Orleans and Jacksonville.
Crestview Mayor David Cadle said commission members – currently representing Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana – recently briefed DeFuniak Springs Mayor Bob Campbell, a Destin City Council representative and him following the SRC’s Dec. 4 meeting in Mobile.
“The restoration of Gulf Coast rail service depends on what Congress does with Amtrak’s budgeting,” Cadle said.
Commission members were encouraged by the U.S. Senate’s Dec. 3 passage of a $325 million transportation bill, including $500,000 to study restoring passenger rail service to the Gulf Coast, according to AL.com. The potential for federal rail service funding marks a turnaround from the government’s previous stance, which demanded affected states pay for passenger rail service, the website stated.
Before Hurricane Katrina, Amtrak’s Sunset Limited passed through Crestview and neighboring communities, including DeFuniak Springs and Pensacola. However, Cadle said, the train’s inconvenient Crestview stop in the early morning hours, coupled with a poor on-time record, deterred ridership.
The proposed service, if approved, likely would follow the Sunset Limited’s New Orleans-to-Jacksonville route. That train had stops including Gulfport, Mississippi; Mobile; Pensacola; and Tallahassee.
SRC Chairman Greg White said restoring Gulf Coast rail service in three to five years is “realistic,” according to a report by WBRC-TV in Birmingham.
“Amtrak specifically has established a series of meetings across the Gulf Coast with stakeholders that they hope to bring to the table,” White said.
Meeting participants include leaders of communities, such as Crestview, where the new service could stop, and railroads such as CSX Transportation, which would provide some of the rail infrastructure.
If passenger rail service does return, it would work well with local plans to promote the downtown area by renaming a portion of Industrial Drive as Crestview Junction.
“The CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency) has plans to build a new depot similar to Crestview’s original station for its Crestview Junction initiative,” Cadle said. “Maybe one day that new depot can be used for the real thing.”