If there is a natural passenger rail corridor anywhere in the United States, it is in the river parishes from Baton Rouge to New Orleans.
After several false starts over the past few years, the resumption of intercity rail service appears to be moving forward.
Both cities, and particularly the cities and parishes between, will benefit from expanded transportation options.
At one time, rail was the main way to travel in this country and in Louisiana. The last rail connection in southeastern Louisiana was the Southern Belle, which ceased running in 1969.
In 1970, Amtrak was created to deal with the cuts in passenger rail services around the country. The agency has long looked to a route between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
Now a veteran Amtrak partner, Canadian National, is merging with Kansas City Southern. The deal was approved Wednesday by the federal agency overseeing railroads.
Additionally, new federal funding is available to help pay for upgrading tracks and other costs of launching the new service.
The Southern Rail Commission has support in this goal from leaders in the cities, including Gov. John Bel Edwards. Edwards and then-secretary of the Department of Transportation and Development Shawn Wilson took a trip on the proposed route.
The Baton Rouge Area Foundation’s John Spain, a longtime booster of the train, envisions stops in downtown Baton Rouge, the Health District around Essen Lane, Gonzales, LaPlace, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and the Union Passenger Terminal in New Orleans.
“There’s been a lot of talk but there has to be some real action, and we’re taking steps to create that action,” Wilson said of the new service.
We look forward to real action on this and other expansions of passenger rail service. The talk, precursor to action, encompasses not only a renewal of train service along the Gulf Coast to Mobile but also an upstate connection from Texas along Interstate 20’s route to Meridian in Mississippi. That would provide a dramatic expansion of rail services in Louisiana.
Each has obstacles to be worked out before the service expansions begin. Maybe the largest is the slowdown required of trains on the old tracks over Bonnet Carre between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Federal funding will be needed for an upgrade to make an easy hour-or-so ride between downtown Baton Rouge and New Orleans’ CBD.
We applaud the local leaders pushing intercity rail in our state, and hope we’re on track to seeing it become a reality.
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