Is an Amtrak return a possibility for Gulf Coast?

It's been more than 10 years since Amtrak provided rail service on the Coast, but members of the Southern Rail Commission are optimistic passenger trains will one day return to the area.

During a meeting of some Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana mayors last week in Mobile, SRC members announced the group will be exploring how and where a passenger service could best serve the Coast.

It could bring new life to the Sunset Limited route that ran east-west from Mobile to New Orleans.

The announcement came the day after Congress passed a $325 billion transportation bill with $1 million ($500,000 a year for two years) allocated for SRC's study.

The group has nine months to complete the study.

"The viability study should be completed well before then," said Pelahatchie Mayor Knox Ross, a commission member. "It will come out sooner rather than later."

The rail lines are owned by CSX Transportation. Amtrak leased them when its Coast service was active.

"We don't want this to be like someone planting a tree in your yard and not asking you," Ross said. "We are CSX's guests and we want to be very cooperative. CSX has owned this for a long time."

Ross said part of the study will look at how the service can be better than it was in 2005.

"Back then, it was a three-days-a-week service that was not on time," he said. "Our proposals will be about a seven-days-a-week service that runs on time. The bill passed by Congress gives us the tools we need to move forward with some real results."

Pascagoula Mayor Jim Blevins attended the meeting in Mobile. He said Amtrak's return would mean good things for his city.

"Pascagoula was a stop on the old route," he said. "We have an old depot that's downtown and in walking distance of shopping, restaurants and businesses."

Blevins said the train line would give workers another way to travel to Pascagoula and it could boost the city's tourism revenue.

"With the train, we could travel to New Orleans and back in a day," he said. "But the people from New Orleans could also come to Pascagoula for the day and experience some of the things we have to offer."

With the commission set to begin its exploration, Ross said he is hopeful Amtrak will return to the Coast in the near future.

"This is something that could happen in the next few years," he said. "But there are a lot of hurdles we will have to clear, including funding from Amtrak. But at least we have a starting point."

This story was originally published December 8, 2015 at 8:12 PM with the headline "Is an Amtrak return a possibility for Gulf Coast? ."