The federal commission that oversaw public hearings on the potential reopening of the Gulf Coast Railroad in 2022 has invited all parties involved in the matter to a status hearing, to which the City of Mobile will be invited.
In a Friday news update, the U.S. Surface Transportation Board asked parties in the lawsuit — Amtrak, freight carriers along the route (CSX and Norfolk Southern) and the Alabama Port Authority — to submit a status report. Update the board with a settlement agreement to operate Amtrak service between New Orleans and Mobile by Feb. 1.
The settlement agreement was reached in November 2022, more than 14 months ago.
“We will review the STB’s actions and respond in a timely manner,” Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said. “We appreciate the Board’s continued focus on the Gulf Coast Service.”
CSX spokesman Brian Tucker said the company is “considering the decision and will work with other stakeholders to provide updates as they become available.”
A hearing is scheduled for February 14th, which will allow all parties to provide more details on the settlement. The city of Mobile is invited to participate “if it so chooses,” the board said. The 11 a.m. hearing will take place on Ash Wednesday, the day after Mobile concludes Mardi Gras, the state’s largest annual festival.
“Today’s Board announcement requires that the February report include detailed information on the implementation status of the settlement and document outstanding issues, as more than 14 months have passed since the settlement was announced. There is,” he said. News updates can be found on the STB website.
The STB noted that there may not be a need to hold a public hearing if the board determines that status reports from parties involved in the 2022 agreement are “sufficient.”
The federal commission hearing, the first since 2022, comes as talks continue between the city of Mobile and Amtrak over a lease for a train station in downtown Mobile near Cooper Riverside Park. It turns out. For Amtrak to use the site for Gulf Coast service, the lease agreement must be approved by the Mobile City Council, but there is no timeline for when that will occur.
Mobile’s approval marks the first capital improvements since Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of the line in 2005 and is the final bureaucratic final step that must be completed before Gulf Coast service begins. is considered a step.
Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson said after Tuesday’s “State of the City Address” that the city will provide an estimate of the operating costs Amtrak expects the city to support two round-trip service per day between New Orleans and Mobile. He said he is waiting for it. 4 stations in Mississippi.
The Mobile City Council would have to approve a cost-sharing package, but there is no guarantee that will happen. At least two City Council members have expressed concerns about the project, and a supermajority of five out of seven City Council members is required to approve nearly all Mobile budget spending.
However, the STB’s re-involvement in the case could prompt action. Before the settlement agreement was announced in November 2022, the STB had set a date of December 7, 2022, when it was expected to decide the fate of the Gulf project. The project marks the first time in the STB’s 27-year history that a federal commission will be involved in decisions to manage U.S. rail lines that pit Amtrak and freight operators against each other.
At the heart of the issue is whether a mandate established in 1971 should continue to require freight railroads to allow passenger trains access to rail lines in the United States, experts said in testimony in early 2022. said the Gulf Coast incident could prioritize Amtrak’s full-term service because the country primarily operates on tracks owned by freight companies.
STB’s involvement coincides with a major federal investment in passenger rail by the Biden administration, which injected $66 billion in federal funding through the bipartisan infrastructure law approved by Congress in late 2021.
The project has been largely stalled since late 2022, with few details discussed due to non-disclosure agreements agreed to by all involved. A $178.8 million federal grant dedicated to infrastructure improvements was officially awarded to support the project in September, even though most observers expected the grant announcement. .
Negotiations in Mobile did not begin until after the grant was announced, and were criticized by rail advocates. Jim Matthews, president and CEO of the Railroad Passenger Association, told AL.com last month whether those who had expressed opposition before the STB were intentionally delaying the project. He said he was skeptical.
That included nearly all speakers from Alabama, who expressed concern that without improvements to rail infrastructure, two-daily service would harm the Port of Mobile, a key economic engine on the Alabama Gulf Coast. expressed.
“Any activity that interferes with the continued and efficient operation of a mobile port must be treated with the utmost scrutiny,” Stimpson said before the STB.
John Robert Smith, chairman of the U.S. Department of Transportation and a supporter of the project, said at a public hearing in 2022 that Amtrak would delay Port of Mobile operations with the goal of eliminating additional passenger rail. He said he felt trucking companies were trying to spread fear in Alabama. Flights along the Gulf Coast have been undergoing “torturous delays” and added: “Deaths caused by delays should not become the norm.”