Amtrak asks STB to dismiss Gulf Coast petition

Amtrak late last week asked the Surface Transportation Board to dismiss its request that the board force CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway to allow Amtrak trains to operate along the Gulf Coast between Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans.

In its Oct. 24 filing, Amtrak asked the case to be dismissed because the terms of its settlement agreement among the two Class Is, the Alabama State Port Authority and its Terminal Railway Alabama State Docks have been fulfilled.

Amtrak filed its original Gulf Coast petition on March 16, 2021. The STB launched the case in August 2021, held a public hearing on it February 15-16, 2022, and a multiday evidentiary hearing in April 2022. In June 2022, the STB ordered the parties to begin board-sponsored mediation; on Nov. 21, 2022, they informed the board that they had reached a settlement to resolve the dispute once additional conditions were met.

The board granted the motion to hold the proceedings in abeyance and ordered the parties to report the status of reaching their conditions. In February of this year, the board held a status hearing on the parties' progress in meeting the conditions, and as of Oct. 22 the conditions to resolve the case were met to the point that Amtrak asked to dismiss its original petition.

Also on Oct. 22, Amtrak and Mobile officials held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Mobile Station passenger platform and layover track, which is the only infrastructure project that is required to be completed before intercity passenger-rail service can resume, according to Amtrak's filing.

Moreover, Amtrak and the parties are working on additional infrastructure projects included in the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant awarded to Amtrak for the Gulf Coast Corridor Improvement Project, although these projects are not required to be completed before the service can begin. The CRISI grant agreement between Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration was fully executed on Oct. 22, thus fulfilling the last of the settlement agreement’s conditions.

An opening date for the service has not yet been announced. Amtrak hasn't operated train service along the Gulf Coast since Hurricane Katrina damaged rail infrastructure in the region in 2005.