(The following story by Ryan Burr appeared on the News Herald website on January 10.)
CHIPLEY, Fla. — Amtrak is experiencing a growing chorus of agencies, lawmakers and local governments calling for restoration of rail passenger service in Florida.
Amtrak had operated a route, called Sunset Limited, from Los Angeles to eastern Florida, but Hurricane Katrina in 2005 destroyed the tracks east of the Mississippi. The tracks were repaired long ago, but Amtrak’s passenger service did not resume service east of New Orleans.
Lawmakers such as U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd, D-Monticello, and U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., have supported bringing back all of the Sunset Limited route. And at the prodding of the Norwest Florida League of Cities, local governments now are considering passing resolutions requesting Amtrak restore the New Orleans-Florida service.
“Anything that improves our transportation, gives us more choices is good,” said Callaway City Manager Judy Whitis.
The Callaway City Commission will discuss an Amtrak resolution at their Tuesday meeting. Whitis said she thinks local government support for restoring the Amtrak service is significant.
“Any local governing body represents a lot of people, and the smaller the governing body, the more in touch it is with the constituents,” Whitis said, referring to Callaway.
The Bay County Transportation Planning Organization and the West Florida Regional Planning Council last year passed Amtrak resolutions. Lynn Haven Mayor Walter Kelley, a member of the TPO and the Norwest Florida League of Cities, said he plans to introduce the matter to his City Commission soon.
“Everyone I talk to wants the service restored,” Kelley said. “We’re going to have growth between Pensacola and Jacksonville, and we need all modes of transportation possible.”
Chipley Mayor Linda voiced her support for the train’s return at a recent City Council meeting. Before Hurricane Katrina, Amtrak made stops in Chipley and Crestview.
“I’m all for the return of Amtrak,” she said. “It would be great for the city of Chipley.”
The national passenger railroad has said the service was ineffective and made little financial sense for a company with limited resources. The rail service requires about $1.3 billion in federal funding a year.
But U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Jacksonville, who chairs a rail subcommittee and whose district felt the impact of suspended service, pushed comprehensive Amtrak legislation signed into law last year. It includes a requirement that the railroad come up with a plan to bring back the Sunset Limited’s eastern route.
Under the new law, Amtrak has until July to come up with a plan to restore service in that area. The railroad is not required to act on the plan yet.
Amtrak spokesman Cliff Black told The Associated Press in November that the company considers demands like the one regarding the Sunset Limited to be “legitimate input” and would comply fully with the legislation.
Sunset Limited, particularly the eastern portion, has long ranked as one of Amtrak’s most problematic trains.
In fiscal 2004, the last full year before Hurricane Katrina, the Sunset carried just 96,000 riders, including 37,000 east of New Orleans. The remaining, western portion carried 72,000 passengers in fiscal 2008, making it Amtrak’s least popular long-distance train.
The most popular long-distance route, the Empire Builder that links Chicago with the Pacific Northwest, had 554,000 riders.
The railroad already was discussing whether to discontinue the eastern portion of the Sunset Limited when Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005, The Associated Press reported.
The hurricane allowed Amtrak to suspend, rather than stop, the service.