BATON ROUGE, La. — The cities of Baton Rouge and Gonzales will receive $20 million in federal funding for stations for the proposed Baton Rouge-New Orleans passenger service, members of the Louisiana congressional delegation have announced.
The funds, sought jointly by the two cities, will go toward land acquisition, design, and construction of the stations. The Greater Baton Rouge Business Report says the cities has sought $36.95 million for the two structures, which have an estimated total cost of $46.6 million.
The funds are part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s RAISE (Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity) grant program. $13 million will to go toward construction of the initial phase of the project in Baton Rouge, an ADA-compliant platform and canopy, with the city and parish providing $3.25 million in matching funds.
“This grant award is the result of unprecedented regional collaboration between two cities critical to the success of the project,” Baton Rouge Mayor Sharon Weston Broome said in a press release.
The city has a plan in place for two stations, one downtown and one in the suburban Health District, that was completed in 2019 in partnership with the Southern Rail Commission and administered by redevelopment agency Build Baton Rouge.
Canadian Pacific has pledged to allow one daily round trip of New Orleans-Baton Rouge service if its merger with Kansas City Southern — current owner of the route — is approved [see “Canadian Pacific commits …” Trains News Wire, Dec. 8, 2021]. The railroad has cautioned, however, that infrastructure improvements may be needed to improve trip times, and that capacity work will be needed for additional frequencies. A 2014 report estimated about $262 million in infrastructure work was needed to improve the route for passenger service.
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