Amtrak New Gulf Coast Service - New Orleans to Mobile AL

Also I understand this train to be a 2x/day round trip. They should make sure the Saturday RT accommodates Saints fans coming in for the game. Saints fans are unbelievable fanatics. The station is right by the stadium. Make that work and the train works.

Also keep in mind that NOUPT is getting rebuilt/refurbished soon, most likely to accommodate this new passenger service. There are also talks of a private passenger railroad from New Orleans to Baton Rouge using NOUPT for service as well. Therefore, this station will no longer just be for LD service only and could be used for frequent regional trains as well, which could bring in plenty of people, especially around a 300 mile radius, to the city.

If there was a desire to have a Crescent 2 NOL - Mobile - Montgomery = LaGrange =- ATL why not make it a LD train with the train beyond ATL north the proposed day train NYP - ATL ?

Pensyfan19 wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 11:59 am Also keep in mind that NOUPT is getting rebuilt/refurbished soon, most likely to accommodate this new passenger service. There are also talks of a private passenger railroad from New Orleans to Baton Rouge using NOUPT for service as well. Therefore, this station will no longer just be for LD service only and could be used for frequent regional trains as well, which could bring in plenty of people, especially around a 300 mile radius, to the city.

Where have you seen talk of a private passenger service? I've only seen discussion of commuter rail.

Got a topic here: https://railroad.net/viewtopic.php?f=137&t=160262

and a very dated Amtrak proposal here: https://railroad.net/viewtopic.php?f=46 ... ilit=baton

"Search" is your friend.

Like a "montgomery section" of the Crescent?

Jeff Smith wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 2:02 pm

Pensyfan19 wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 11:59 am Also keep in mind that NOUPT is getting rebuilt/refurbished soon, most likely to accommodate this new passenger service. There are also talks of a private passenger railroad from New Orleans to Baton Rouge using NOUPT for service as well. Therefore, this station will no longer just be for LD service only and could be used for frequent regional trains as well, which could bring in plenty of people, especially around a 300 mile radius, to the city.

Where have you seen talk of a private passenger service? I've only seen discussion of commuter rail.

Got a topic here: https://railroad.net/viewtopic.php?f=137&t=160262

and a very dated Amtrak proposal here: https://railroad.net/viewtopic.php?f=46 ... ilit=baton

"Search" is your friend.

There was a little nugget tucked away in the September 2018 minutes of the Southern Rail Commission:

The Governor’s office told KCS that they received an unsolicited P3 offer
from an international entity to install passenger rail service from the New Orleans
airport to the central business district, as well as from Baton Rouge to New Orleans,
and to buy the line between Baton Rouge and Shreveport. The governor will
introduce KCS and the entity.

Source:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/ ... 281%29.pdf

Now as far as I can tell there hasn't been any more news on that front, but it is at least intriguing that someone was interested enough to contact the governor about it. I can't help but think that the commuter line to Mobile should at least help the case for BR service.

Sorry. I was mistaken. I was referencing the Southeastern Rail Commission. But even still, that would bring increased frequency to NOUPT, thus making this rebuild evermore helpful.

I don't hold out much hope, but a service, public or private, from MSY to downtown would be amazing. I bet 80% of MSY arrivals are tourism going to the CBD or French Quarter, maybe cruise ships. The taxi line and traffic to downtown on Friday is atrocious. There is also plenty of space on existing ROW to operate such service.

There are a lot of options, but the best would probably be a light rail that follows CN/KCS from the airport, stops at Causeway/Metairie, Carrolton Avenue (former IC station), Superdome/NOUPT/Smoothie King, then a loop (mostly already built) down Howard to the convention center and cruise terminal, along the river to Canal, up canal to Loyola, back to NOUPT on Loyola.

I wonder who was behind the unsolicited offer?

west point wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 12:42 pm If there was a desire to have a Crescent 2 NOL - Mobile - Montgomery = LaGrange =- ATL why not make it a LD train with the train beyond ATL north the proposed day train NYP - ATL ?

Volks, what have I missed?

I guess young railfans around here are not aware that what Mr. West Point has outlined above was the historical route of The Crescent.

Also of interest to Mr. West Point is that the Atlanta and West Point RR was part of thst route Atlanta- West Point, thence Western Railway Alabama to Montgomery and L&N interchange.

The Amtrak varietal of The Crescent is routed same as was the SRY "The Southerner".

Oh well, looks like some additional "feed" has been thrown "in the trough". Consultants, time to "chow down" :

https://railroads.dot.gov/newsroom/pres ... estore-and

Author requests waiver on Fair Use requirements; material is PDF format.

Jeff Smith wrote: ↑Tue Feb 04, 2020 3:30 pmAs noted upthread, the Governor (Ivey?) is not interested, but should this service prove to be feasible and bring people to Mobile whether for the cruise terminal or general tourism/business, then perhaps a link upstream via Birmingham to Atlanta may be in the cards.

In many ways this is the most interesting question of them all. Can Alabama state officials be persuaded of the value of passenger rail service? I think if the service is successful they are going to be getting a lot of phone calls from local officials in other parts of the state demanding their fair share of the opportunity.

They will be hard pressed to deny them a chance to benefit from new service. I also think that ultimately the state will cave and fund the service. They are going to realize that shoving the burden on to municipalities also results in less political support for the policy priorities of the state government. Hard to claim credit for something you refused to fund.

I also strongly agree that a link to Atlanta is a real possibility. That city (and Georgia as a whole) have basically reached the end of the line of highway based development.

Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Wed May 06, 2020 6:46 am Oh well, looks like some additional "feed" has been thrown "in the trough". Consultants, time to "chow down" :

https://railroads.dot.gov/newsroom/pres ... estore-and

Author requests waiver on Fair Use requirements; material is PDF format.

Mssr. Norman, at some point I'll repost and clarify the "fair-use policy", but for Press Releases and Government-Sourced information, I throw out fair-use; it's all "fair game", excerpting not required:

Southern Rail Commission
Restoring Intercity Passenger Rail Service along America’s Gulf Coast
$5,450,000
New Orleans, LA, to Mobile, AL
The project restores intercity passenger rail service along the Gulf Coast with state-supported Amtrak service from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Mobile, Alabama. It will serve regions that are underserved and the project is expected to foster economic development, enhance connectivity,
provide other non-transportation benefits to the Gulf Coast region, and fill a critical geographic gap in Amtrak’s National Network. The Gulf Coast region was previously served by Amtrak’s tri-weekly Sunset Limited long-distance service. Amtrak suspended service between New Orleans, Louisiana, and Orlando, Florida, in August 2005 due to Hurricane Katrina, which caused extensive damage to the rail infrastructure over which the service operated. The two daily round trips will make six station stops in New Orleans, Louisiana; Bay St. Louis, Mississippi; Gulfport, Mississippi; Biloxi, Mississippi; Pascagoula, Mississippi; and Mobile, Alabama.

According to Southern Rail Commission's website, this service is projected to start in 2023.

What are they waiting for?

Seriously if CSX wanted to start a new freight train on that route, it would run next week.

If Metra or South Shore wanted to add a new frequency to the timetable it might be next quarter or next fall, maybe next year.

But three years?

I think the issue is they need time to bid out and mobilize for track work. Two years seems pretty reasonable for this type of project. It also allows for contingencies related to materials. I've seen issues with other projects where some of the rail hardware that has to be US sourced can take up to seven months to be delivered because of backups at the foundries.