NEW ORLEANS – Today, Mayor Mitch Landrieu joined Amtrak leaders, Southern Rail Commission and federal, state and local officials for the departure of the Gulf Coast Passenger Rail Inspection Trip, at a press conference at the New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal (Main Lobby), 1001 Loyola Ave., at 8:00 a.m.
Mayor Landrieu was joined by Tom Carper, Amtrak Board Member and Immediate Past Chairman, U.S. Representative Cedric Richmond (LA), U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (MS), U.S. Representative Corrine Brown (FL), Sarah Feinberg, Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration, Shawn Wilson, PhD, Secretary of Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and John Spain, Vice Chairman, Southern Rail Commission.
Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, passenger rail between New Orleans and Florida was suspended. The goal of this inspection trip will be to examine existing infrastructure and better understand the economic, cultural and mobility opportunities that intercity passenger rail provides. This inspection trip is a major step forward in returning passenger rail service to the eastern region of the Gulf Coast in the near future, organizers said.
Elected officials, federal stakeholders, industry representatives and local community leaders will participate in the inspection trip. Departing from New Orleans at 8:45 a.m., the inspection train will make twelve stops at train stations in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida before arriving in Jacksonville, FL on Friday, February 19, 2016, at 7:15 p.m.
