The prospects for a passenger rail line connecting Baton Rouge and New Orleans increased this week after the Biden administration proposed $ 80 billion for rail passenger transport in its massive infrastructure program and Amtrak launched plans to add 30 new routes that include the long-discussed service.
“It was a very, very good day,” said John Spain, executive vice president of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and a longtime advocate of rail passenger service. “We have a lot of work to do, but this is the closest we’ve ever been.”
The proposed Baton Rouge line for New Orleans Amtrak would include many of the elements recommended in a 2014 rail study, commissioned by BRAF, the Capital Region Planning Commission and the New Orleans Regional Planning Commission. There would be stations near the Electric Depot on Government Street and the Bluebonnet-Essen-Perkins medical district, both in Baton Rouge, Gonzales, LaPlace and at Louis Armstrong International Airport, with a final stop at the Union Passenger Terminal near the Superdome.
“Amtrak said that the work we did, they are going to do,” said Spain.
It would take about an hour to cover the entire route, almost as long as it would take to cover the same distance. The study envisaged eight round-trip trips per day, with round-trip tickets costing around $ 15.
The 2014 report estimated that it would cost $ 262 million to keep the rail service up and running. The biggest expense would be $ 62.1 million to replace the 1.8-mile wooden railway bridge over the Bonnet Carre Spillway, where trains now travel at 10 miles an hour.
The effort to develop a passenger rail line connecting New Orleans and Baton Rouge may be gaining momentum.
“The plans are there,” said Spain, the former president of the Southern Rail Commission. Federal funds exist that would cover half the costs of building train stations and help pay for railroad upgrades. One of the next steps would be for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development to apply for grants to cover rail upgrades.
Next year, Amtrak is due to restore the rail line from New Orleans to Mobile, Alabama, which was canceled after Hurricane Katrina. Extending the passenger rail to Baton Rouge is the “next logical step,” said Knox Ross, secretary-treasurer for the Southern Rail Commission.
Efforts to restore rail passenger service along the Gulf Coast increased on Thursday, when the US Department of Transportation awarded a $ 4.36 prize…
Amtrak is focused on developing rail services between city pairs, such as Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Ross said a line between the state capital and Crescent City checks the boxes the agency is looking for: public support (a recent survey of southern Louisiana residents found that 85% said it was “very important” or “important” to have a rail line connecting Baton Rouge and New Orleans); good population density; and competitive travel time with management. In addition, there is political strength behind the effort. Governor John Bel Edwards supports the measure, along with former US deputy Cedric Richmond. The New Orleans Democrat is now working at the White House as a senior adviser to Biden.
A 2010 study of a possible passenger rail service between Baton Rouge and New Orleans predicts that 39,000 passengers may be traveling between…
It also doesn’t hurt that the president has the nickname “Amtrak Joe” due to the daily train ride from his home in Delaware to Washington, DC
“Louisiana has a unique location to do that,” said Ross.
Another factor in favor of the railway line is the proposed purchase of the Canadian Pacific Railway from Kansas City Southern. Although Canadian Pacific has a great relationship with Amtrak, Spain and Ross note that the service is not working on the KCS network. “We believe that there is a new opportunity to speak to a new administration,” said Spain.
Even with all the energy and momentum behind the momentum for rail service, there are still some obstacles that need to be overcome. The transportation bill needs to pass through Congress, and there is some concern about the $ 2 trillion price tag.
“This is not an insignificant project,” said Spain, “but the fact that they announce something to the public is exciting for us.”
The last passenger train to serve Baton Rouge, the Southern Belle, passed en route to New Orleans on the morning of November 3, 1969, after the Interstate Commerce Commission gave the Kansas City Southern Railroad and its subsidiary, Louisiana and Arkansas Railroad , permission to discard the service amid declining revenue.