Amtrak route from Meridian MS to Fort Worth comes after Gulf Coast train
February 12th, 2018
February 3, 2018 - meridianstar.com -
Negotiations are underway to revive a long-awaited Amtrak route connecting Atlanta and Ft. Worth, Texas, through Meridian, but it has taken a backseat to a Gulf Coast train route that was abandoned after Hurricane Katrina.
“The Gulf Coast is first in line — it gets priority,” said Transportation for American Chairman and former Meridian Mayor John Robert Smith. “… There’s a finite amount of money that you can compete for.”
The coastal route, which would run from Mobile to New Orleans, was abandoned more than a decade ago after Hurricane Katrina devastated the coast.
Smith said it will take about two years to negotiate terms for the two-and-a-half hour train route from Mobile to New Orleans. With matching federal funds, it would cost the states of Mississippi and Alabama about $23 million.
Read more: http://www.meridianstar.com/news/local_news/amtrak-route-from-meridian-to-texas-under-negotiation/article_3dae6404-5db2-5d86-8e8b-2d685e9252ef.html
Negotiations are underway to revive a long-awaited Amtrak route connecting Atlanta and Ft. Worth, Texas, through Meridian, but it has taken a backseat to a Gulf Coast train route that was abandoned after Hurricane Katrina.
“The Gulf Coast is first in line — it gets priority,” said Transportation for American Chairman and former Meridian Mayor John Robert Smith. “… There’s a finite amount of money that you can compete for.”
The coastal route, which would run from Mobile to New Orleans, was abandoned more than a decade ago after Hurricane Katrina devastated the coast.
Smith said it will take about two years to negotiate terms for the two-and-a-half hour train route from Mobile to New Orleans. With matching federal funds, it would cost the states of Mississippi and Alabama about $23 million.
Read more: http://www.meridianstar.com/news/local_news/amtrak-route-from-meridian-to-texas-under-negotiation/article_3dae6404-5db2-5d86-8e8b-2d685e9252ef.html