Plan for returning Amtrak service to Gulf Coast could be derailed by Alabama city leaders

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Not everyone is on board with a plan to return Amtrak trains to the Gulf Coast, which would restore passenger service to Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana for the first time since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Amtrak’s long-term plan is for trains to run from a station near the convention center in Mobile, Alabama, to New Orleans, with four stops in Mississippi, WALA-TV reported. But much of Alabama’s funding for the plan relies on the city of Mobile — and support among city council members there is wavering.

The plan depends on subsidies from governments in all three states, WALA reported. Much of the funding in Alabama would come from the city of Mobile, but five of the seven council members must approve it.

Mobile City Councilman Josh Woods said Tuesday that he doesn’t support the current proposal, and city council member Ben Reynolds has also said he’d vote no on the funding plan. A third city council member, Joel Daves, has been a critic of Amtrak funding.