MOBILE, Ala. — Mobile’s city council will vote Dec. 31 whether to make a financial commitment to efforts to restore Amtrak service to the Gulf Coast, AL.com reports.
The money, which under varying estimates could be $2 million to $3 million for three years, would match a federal grant to offset a portion of operating costs for the proposed service between New Orleans and Mobile. [See “Federal grant for operations advances efforts to restore Amtrak service to Gulf Coast,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 30, 2019.]
While the city needs to make a decision before a Jan. 6 deadline to commit matching funds, the actual money would not be required before 2023, the projected start date of the service.
City Council President Levon Manzie told the news site that while the city’s financial responsibility remains a concern, he considers it “untenable” that Mobile could not be included on the route: “We need to be a part of this service.”
Mobile’s decision is independent of other money — at least $2.2 million — needed from an Alabama source to fund capital improvements before the service begins. Gov. Kay Ivie and Jimmy Lyons, CEO of the Alabama State Port Authority, have balked at supporting the potential passenger service on the grounds it could interfere with traffic at the Port of Mobile.
