May 31, 2023 - t4america.org - 

The mayors of Monroe, Ruston, and Shreveport, Louisiana, have joined forces with the mayor of Vicksburg, Mississippi to fight for new Amtrak service through their communities. This move has placed these four local officials at the center of the national conversation about expanding long-distance passenger rail service.

Mayor Friday Ellis of Monroe, Mayor Ronny Walker of Ruston, Mayor Tom Arcenaux of Shreveport, and Mayor George Flaggs Jr. of Vicksburg are working together to establish new passenger rail service along the freight rail corridor that runs along I-20 from Meridian, MS to Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (depicted below). The new service would be an expansion of Amtrak’s Crescent service through Meridian, allowing passengers along the I-20 Corridor to access Atlanta and other points north by rail. 

Read more: https://t4america.org/2023/05/31/how-four-mayors-from-the-deep-south-are-leading-the-expansion-of-national-passenger-rail/

Photo credit: t4a.org Pictured: (from left) Ruston Mayor Ronny Walker, Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux, and Monroe Mayor Friday Ellis