Passenger rail in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama doesn’t get the spotlight often, but the story behind Amtrak’s new Mardi Gras service proves how much demand has been waiting on the sidelines. We sit down with Knox Ross, chairman of the Southern Rail Commission, to unpack how a three-state compact built the coalition, the funding path, and the political momentum needed to bring New Orleans to Mobile passenger trains back to the Gulf Coast after years of false starts.
We get into what the Southern Rail Commission actually does day to day: stitching together state DOTs, local leaders, congressional champions, Amtrak, and freight rail operators who own the tracks. Knox explains why launching a new passenger route can feel like “almost a miracle,” from changing governors to local supermajority votes, and why persistence matters as much as any technical plan. We also talk candidly about the freight railroad reality: dispatching conflicts, liability concerns, capacity constraints, and why infrastructure upgrades like longer sidings can be the key to making passenger rail coexist with freight.
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