Restoring Amtrak Service to the Gulf Coast
Part 2
In our last blog, we discussed the Surface Transportation Board getting ready to hold hearings on restoring Amtrak service to the Gulf Coast. Since Hurricane Katrina hit that region in 2005, the passenger rail service, where the Sunset Limited used to run, has been suspended.
Since then, tracks have been replaced, yet discussions to restore Amtrak service to the Gulf Coast did not begin until the passage of the FAST-ACT of 2015. This act instructed the US Department of Transportation to form a working group assigned to the Southern Rail Commission. The group aimed to estimate investment costs from the government freight railroads and if there would be enough interest from the communities affected to move forward with restoring Amtrak services.