CRISI In Hand, Amtrak Moves To Drop Gulf Case

By Jim Mathews / President & CEO

After wrapping up its $178 million CRISI grant agreement on Tuesday with the Federal Railroad Administration, Amtrak this week asked the Surface Transportation Board to drop its three-year-old case to compel CSX and Norfolk Southern to allow Amtrak to begin long-delayed Gulf Coast service.

“Amtrak is pleased to report that as of October 22, 2024, the conditions necessary to resolve this matter pursuant to the Parties’ settlement agreement have been satisfied such that Amtrak hereby moves to dismiss its application with prejudice and close these proceedings,” the railroad said in a filing to the STB docket on Gulf Coast restoration, FD 36496. “Amtrak wishes to express its appreciation to the Board for its time and attention to this matter. With the assistance of the Board, intercity passenger rail service between Mobile and New Orleans soon will be restored.”

“With prejudice” in this instance just means that Amtrak can’t file the same claim again at the STB, acknowledging that Amtrak agrees that “necessary” conditions to resolve the claim were satisfied by this outcome.

On that same day, DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg joined FRA Administrator Amit Bose, Southern Rail Commission Chair Knox Ross, and Amtrak President Roger Harris for a groundbreaking ceremony for the Mobile Station platform and layover track – the final piece of the puzzle.

Local activist Bryan Fuenmayor, who pulled together the Friends of Amtrak – Mobile grassroots group that helped move the ball those final critical few inches, told supporters in Mobile that “now that the groundbreaking is complete, the next step is to wait for the temporary platform and accompanying rail to be built. We’ll also be on the lookout for when they start selling tickets. We’ll continue to keep everyone updated and advocate for passenger rail in Mobile, Alabama, and beyond. Continue advocating, recruit more people to the cause, and never give up.”

Indeed. So many people worked incredibly hard for nearly two decades just to get to a groundbreaking. The Southern Rail Commission’s appointed members devoted nearly full-time energy to this restoration and most of the heavy lifting. SRC kept up a steady drumbeat, and helped galvanize the leadership of Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) in securing the grant funding needed to build the missing pieces, along with Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) and the late Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.).

We’re proud to say that we played our own roles, and I personally spent most of the early years of my tenure here as President visiting the Gulf Coast region to rally support and to develop research to inform our work with the FRA, Amtrak, and others working to get this done. We also played a key role in encouraging local folks to pressure the Mobile City Council a few years ago to set the stage for this victory with a positive vote.

But for all that effort from so many places, it’s important to recognize that a few months ago it came down to just one City Council member and the local voters who wanted to see this happen. I’d like to take a moment here to offer a tip-of-the-hat to Bryan and his “grassroots army,” who really stepped up when the moment called for it. I hope he inspires all of our members, donors, and supporters to put in the elbow grease in their communities to make service happen. Mobile is proof of the power of grassroots energy!