(The Associated Press circulated the following article on April 11.)
NEW ORLEANS — Transportation officials are studying the possibility of an Amtrak passenger train route between New Orleans and Baton Rouge to help handle the flow of commuting workers following Hurricane Katrina.
Amtrak made a test run last week between Union Passenger Terminal in New Orleans and a Kansas City Southern rail station in Baton Rouge to see if the route is suitable technically for passenger service.
The state is waiting to see how much of a subsidy the venture would require, and whether federal money for it is available, said Cleo Allen, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation and Development.
Stops in St. John the Baptist and St. Charles parishes are possible, but no decisions have been made, she said.
The state proposed a similar service in September at an estimated three-year cost of $25 million. But the Federal Emergency Management Agency instead financed a bus service called LA Swift, to shuttle residents between the two cities.
The bus service, which originates in downtown Baton Rouge with stops in Sorrento and LaPlace, has had nearly 75,000 riders since it began Oct. 31, Allen said.
But federal financing for the line is expected to end June 30. Transportation officials said it is doubtful that financing will be extended.
Passenger rail service between Baton Rouge and New Orleans was discontinued in 1968.