Amtrak returning to Mobile with Gulf Coast route after city council member announces support

This story was updated at 3:11 p.m. with comments from Amtrak and the Southern Rail Commission.

Amtrak’s passenger rail service is set to make its return to Mobile, after one member of the Mobile City Council decided to support it, securing the needed votes on the council.

Josh Woods, who represents District 6 on the council, says he’s now willing to support a funding agreement and ground lease with Amtrak; after previously saying he was against the proposal. His vote give the majority needed on the council for the project to proceed.

“The administration, Mayor Stimpson, Chief of Staff [James] Barber, they took my concerns to heart and went back to Amtrak,” Woods said. “Everybody was listening instead of yelling at each other.”

“We appreciate the leadership of Mayor Stimpson and the work by his staff to bring us this far,” Amtrak Vice President Ray Lang said in a statement. “We’ve listened closely to the mayor and city council and this agreement is the result of that collaborative process.”

Amtrak would operate two round trips per day between Mobile and New Orleans, with four stops in Mississippi. Service to Mobile halted after Hurricane Katrina; rail advocates have tried to bring passenger rail back to the city for several years.

Jason Johnson, a spokesperson for the city of Mobile, confirmed reports that the city and Amtrak had finalized the language in the funding agreement and ground lease for a train stop at the foot of Government Street downtown.

Woods said that city administrators want to add the two items to the city council’s agenda as soon as next week. City council rules dictate that most items are held at least one week before final vote, so a vote on the funding agreement and ground lease could come as early as August 6.

“We are so pleased to hear this news and appreciate the efforts of Governor Ivey, Mayor Stimpson and the Mobile City Council, the Port of Mobile, CSX railroad and all of our partners who have worked towards this progress,” Knox Ross, chairman of the Southern Rail Commission, said in a statement. “We eagerly anticipate the approval of the land-use agreements and funding plans for the Mobile station and passenger service. We will continue to work with Amtrak and our local, state, and federal partners to secure funds that support this service in the future.”

Lang said Amtrak wants to start service to Mobile “as soon as possible.”

“Amtrak will work with the Port and our other railroad partners, CSX and Norfolk Southern, to carry out the track upgrades and other improvements needed to start Amtrak service as soon as possible,” Lang said. “This will benefit everyone in the communities we will serve by both passenger and freight trains.”

Initially, the city of Mobile would have been responsible for providing $3 million over the first three years of Amtrak’s service. But after federal rail officials gave a more than $170 million federal Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant to improve rail infrastructure around Mobile, the Alabama Port Authority board agreed to provide $1 million to the three-year subsidy.

The state of Alabama also indicated it would be willing to provide around $1 million, leaving Mobile to provide the remaining $1 million. However, where the state funding would come from is unclear, as the fiscal year 2025 state budget has already been finalized.

Still, Woods and other members of the city council were hesitant to support the return of Amtrak. Woods said he had been concerned that the city of Mobile would be on the hook for subsidizing Amtrak beyond the initial three-year agreement.

But he said the city of Mobile took his concern seriously and went back to Amtrak. As part of the finalized agreement, he said, language has been added that states the city of Mobile does not intend to support Amtrak after three years. Amtrak will have to find other funding sources, Woods said.

“Is it perfect? Is it exactly what I wanted? No,” Woods said. “But at least it puts Amtrak on notice that we’re not going to support this after three years.”

Woods said he hopes to see the state of Alabama provide more of the funding for Amtrak going forward. The state governments in Mississippi and Louisiana are supporting Amtrak, he said, whereas in Alabama, it’s almost entirely fallen on the city of Mobile.

“We also thank the Port of Mobile for agreeing to help carry the first three years of Alabama funding, together with the city,” Lang said. “We will support the Southern Rail Commission in Montgomery, Jackson and Baton Rouge in seeking state funding for future years of service.”:

Five members of the Mobile City Council are needed to pass any item that comes in front of the council, per council rules. In addition to Woods, councilmembers Joel Daves and Ben Reynolds had been opposed to the return of Amtrak. Woods said he’s “not sure if they’ve arrived at their comfort level” to now support Amtrak.

Daves has been a vocal opponent of Amtrak, calling it a “joyride for the affluent.” He was the lone vote against the city council providing Amtrak a $3 million subsidy in 2020. That agreement is out of date, and only three members of the council that voted for that agreement are still on the council now.

Passenger rail had been set to return to Mobile in 2023, after a confidential settlement was reached between Amtrak and freight rail operators CSX and Norfolk Southern in November 2022. Negotiations with the city and Amtrak have moved slowly, but in May, the city’s Board of Zoning Adjustment unanimously approved a plan to have Amtrak build a train depot at the foot of Government Street, on Water Street across from the Exploreum.