Three Coast cities will see improvements to their train stations ahead of Amtrak service that could return in early 2022.
Southern Rail Commission announced Monday the grants for South Mississippi:
Bay St. Louis — $270,000
Gulfport — $246,500
Pascagoula — $186,838
Birmingham, Alabama, will receive $250,000.
The grants require an equal local match invested in the project.
The money will fund improvements to existing facilities to provide safe access. It also will provide for amenities such as lighting, sidewalks, parking areas and surrounding area development, which SRC said could improve ridership potential and expand the economic opportunity that comes with station redevelopment.
Plans for the return of Amtrak passenger service in early 2022 between New Orleans and Mobile call for stops in Mississippi at Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula.
The four Coast platforms are getting repairs and improvements, including new, well-lit, ADA compliant platforms.
Biloxi doesn’t have a train station, but the platform will be adjacent to and share the facilities of the Coast Transit Authority hub.
SRC said in a press release that funding for the first three years of operations for the New Orleans to Mobile service has been secured. But the start of service is pending a decision by the Surface Transportation Board on Amtrak’s right of access to operate passenger service along the Gulf Coast corridor.
That decision is due in December.
“As we anticipate the return of Gulf Coast service in early 2022, I am so proud to provide this funding to these cities, which leverages their local investment in preparing their stations to be ready for the return of passenger rail,” said SRC Chairman and Mississippi Commissioner Knox Ross.
It’s been 16 years since Hurricane Katrina damaged much of the infrastructure, and longer since Amtrak trains operated in South Mississippi.
“Local leaders have been committed to these projects and have expressed incredible enthusiasm about the economic growth that passenger rail will bring to our member states and the Gulf Coast,” Ross said.
