Long-term financial commitments and the potential impact to the Port of Mobile are two concerns driving Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s hesitation on supporting a possible return of Amtrak to the Gulf Coast.
In a statement to AL.com Saturday, the governor said more information about the return of the passenger rail service to Mobile is needed before the state is willing to make a financial commitment.
Her comments come one day after the Southern Rail Commission and U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., announced the award of a $33 million federal grant to make improvements to the coastal rail line in preparation for a return of Amtrak service within 24 months.
The service will operate daily between New Orleans to Mobile. But the service is anticipated to be substandard in Alabama compared to Louisiana and Mississippi, which have dedicated funds to make upgrades to the rail line.
“While the grant may be a kickstart, we still need to see what the long-term implications would be – both positive and negative – to the Port which has been the focus of a lot of efforts – and money – in recent months and years,” Ivey said in an emailed statement.
“Plus, I want to make certain we know what the long-term financial commitments will be long after this grant has been spent,” she added. “My administration will be working closely with the city, county, port authority and other entities to make certain that this is truly a win for the people of Alabama. We’ll be in a better position to evaluate this after further conversations with these different entities.”
Alabama’s commitment is estimated at around $2.7 million, and the money would serve as a state allocation in support of the grant that was awarded by the Federal Railroad Administration to the Southern Rail Commission, a 21-member group that promotes passenger rail service and pursues funding opportunities to support its mission.
The SRC plans to hold is September meeting in Montgomery, but it’s unclear whether the governor plans to attend.
Ivey, last year, opted not to authorize support for the project. At the time, she said the timing wasn’t right to move forward with the investment.
Mississippi also initially balked at supporting the project, but state officials have since dedicated more than $15 million for the restart of Amtrak service that will include four stops within the state – Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula. Louisiana, which only has one stop in New Orleans, has already pledged approximately $10 million.
The overall costs to restart the service are $65.9 million.
The Alabama State Port Authority has been one the more vocal opponents of bringing Amtrak back to the Gulf Coast.
Jimmy Lyons, the port’s CEO, has said that he believes the service would interfere with business activity within the State Docks in downtown Mobile.
The port is also preparing for a ship channel enlargement project, financed by the state and backed by Ivey through the Rebuild Alabama Infrastructure program, which is being financed through a 10 cent per gallon fuel tax increase that will be phased in over three years. The first tax hike, a 6-cent increase, starts in early September.
The ship channel project got $150 million from the Legislature’s approval of the overall plan, which focused primarily on road maintenance and construction projects. Railroad improvements were not part of the infrastructure program.
The port’s project comes at a time of fierce competition from other Southern shipping ports, such as Savannah, Ga. Ports in Jacksonville, Charleston and elsewhere are also undergoing ship channel deepening project and making them more attractive for luring bigger ships that are more favorable in the international shipping industry since the widening of the Panama Canal in 2016.
A spokeswoman for the Port Authority declined comment about the grant on Friday.