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Map Shows Amtrak Plan To Return Service To Northwest Florida, Perhaps Atmore
January 4, 2023
Amtrak service could return to Northwest Florida, and perhaps Atmore, according to an Amtrak map recently published.
An agreement is in place for a new corridor for Gulf Coast communities between Mobile and New Orleans, including connections with Amtrak’s Sunset Limited, City of New Orleans, and Crescent at New Orleans. The service does not currently extended east beyond Mobile.
The new map shows Amtrak service from Mobile to Jacksonville, with the route traveling through Atmore and Pensacola before heading further east.
Amtrak service between New Orleans and the east coast of Florida ended with Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.
Pictured: An Amtrak inspection train rolls in Atmore (top) and Pensacola (below) in February 2016. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
36 Responses to “Map Shows Amtrak Plan To Return Service To Northwest Florida, Perhaps Atmore”
I have always wonder why the richest country in the world doesn’t have a rail transportation that connects more rural towns to larger metropolitan cities. It’s even more hardening to discover that rail services were discontinued because of damaged railways. And I have lived and traveled in Europe where it’s less stressful to travel by rail. While at the same time contributing to limiting the carbon footprint. I have been planning a rail trip but I have discovered that it very complicated to travel outside of my one’s region.
Would love to see Amtrak from Jacksonville FL to New Orleans. Living in PA we would take train to Jacksonville and go west to Pensacola. As of now, there’s no convenient train route to panhandle of Florida. Surely this would benefit Floridians going west to Texas, Arizona and California! Please put the train back from Jacksonville to New Orleans.
Amtrak should look into cost for laying their own rail.??? some maybe longer routes out of the way than csx but cost and time effective.
As someone that doesn’t fly anymore a train from New Orleans to FL would be great. I would us it several times a year going from Chicago stop over in New Orleans and on to FL.
As someone that doesn’t fly anymore a train from New Orleans to FL would be great. I would us it several times a year going from Chicago stop over in New Orleans and on to FL.
@Ron
The carriers aren’t actually supposed to prioritize freight over passenger service according to FRA regulations, but they do it anyway because until recently neither Amtrak nor the FRA had gone out of their way to enforce regulations on train priority. But recently, Amtrak’s grown a pair and is starting to get tough on the big four, starting with having the FRA launch an investigation into delays on UP track.
Would love to have the Crestview station open again!!
We need more trains period.
I would love the return of a train to St. Petersburg and how about Manchester NH.
You always have to make bus connection when the tracks are right there.
Amtrack; how about bringing back service from
Miami to Chicago going by Atlanta as it was before Amtrack?
That way those of us who live in the Atlanta area would not be force to go north to go to Miami or east to DC to go to Chicago.
If. Amtrack does not have more customers is because not enough routes and not competitive price wise with Airlines
Perhaps specially for over 60, you could Have a yearly pass card ride any time any ware for the price of the yearly pass, I figure your trains would be more full, than they are today, wouldn’t that be better than empty seats?
Amtrak is the way to travel. I especially like the private cars for traveling longer distances as I have circled the United States on Amtrak in the past. It’s especially entertaining for young children! I’m now looking forward to be able to travel from Crestview,Fl to Madison Fl. round trip monthly asap!
I would love it if they added a stop in Atmore again.
Yes!! Please the U.S needs more trains!!!!
We need the Fl train again!
The rail from Pensacola to Jacksonville doesn’t belong to CSX anymore. It belongs to FGA. This isn’t going to happen. Pensacola to Mobile, maybe. Pensacola to Jacksonville…only in dreams.
they need to restore the sunset limited to give floridians another option.
Amtrak needs a train running Mobile to Montgomery so people can connect to trains running north. People don’t have to be taking a train to N.O. then go north. And definitely run a train across N Fla. and connect in Jacksonville and Lake City south to Wildwood and Tampa. As it is you got to ride the Dog past Mobile to get into Fla. It takes too long and makes too many stops. Amtrak running at 90 mph or more can make it a straight shot and stop a few times like in Crestview, Marianna, Tally and Lake City before it gets to Jacksonville. The Dog takes 14 to 21 hrs overnight but Amtrak could do it in 6 hrs. Come on man, let’s get the train going on from Mobile to Montgomery and to Lake City and Jacksonville!
Would be great to travel to New Orleans Jacksonville and other places as you get older driving is not a good choice.
It is about time that AMTRAK trains run between Jacksonville and New Orleans. . Bring it on the sooner the better!!
That would be so nice to be able to go to Pensacola from DeLand. I never go there be cause of the drive. But I’d go at least once a month if I could take Amtrak. Also I hope Amtrak realizes the need for a Amtrak from Florida to Chattanooga. Its a method of transportation that’s been dominated by buses, and at this day a time its common sense that we should have Amtrak to Chattanooga. The bus lines sure don’t have any lack for customers for this route.
I hope the Sunset Limited makes a comeback.
You can always tell when a train has passed through recently. They leave their tracks.
Have been waiting for a train traveling from the Ocala area throughout he various Cities in the state.. Never been on a train and if anyone cares it happens to be on my bucket list. So let’s get it done!!!!! I have family in the pan handle area. I would ride the train alot to see my grand children and their school functions. Thank you
This country needs more high quality passenger rail. If the proposed route is over track not owned by a major railroad company such as CSX, the Feds have billions of uncommitted dollars – enough to buy and upgrade the track. I say go and reinstate a rail see that’s been sorely missed.
This country needs more passenger rail. If the track in question is not owned by one of the major railroad companies, the feds already have umpteen billions of dollars to buy and upgrade it. I say go for it.
This would open a much needed corridor! This is a move in the right direction!
In the early 90’s my ex & I & 2 kids went from Central Texas to Chicago, transfer to train to Syracuse. Visited family & graduation, then headed to WDW in Florida. Came home via the gulf coast train all the way back to Texas. But I remember about a month after we got back, the train derailed somewhere on that train Rte. And then no more trains took that Rte cuz of the damage to the tracks and bridge it rode on. I would rather travel by train anyway, seats recline like a recliner you can sleep on. Not tight quarters. Room, and different train sections to eat, snack & observe the scenery. Love Trains.
Viable train service is so needed in the USA. Airplane travel has turned into complete awful . Amtrak is always hamstrung by the freight lines having priority over the tracks. Only the US congress could screw-in up so bad. It’s a shame because train travel is so much more pleasant than air travel.
Just another misuse of our tax dollars. If AMTRAX was a viable business….
5-7 hours to New Orleans?
No thanks.
CSX no longer owns the rails that run east of Pensacola although there’s Ben rumors of them buying it back. Those have been just rumors. The company that owns those rails has supposedly let them fall into a pretty sad state of disrepair and I do not believe a short line railroad can even host Amtrak trains. Rails would have to be upgraded, PTC cut in, signals upgraded. Your talking tens of millions if not more, then you’d have to have it back under CSX control or controlled by another class 1 railroad.
Hurricane Katrina damaged rail between NOLA and Mobile in 2005 and Hurricane Ivan damaged the rail in NW Florida in 2004. When CSX repaired the rail in NWFL, it was only done to the standards that allow for freight to be transported on it, not passengers. From other articles over the years, I believe this is the holdup and I would expect tens of millions of dollars would have to be spent to upgrade the rail back to passenger level rail. Will that ever happen? I am doubtful.
That map makes it appear to go down the tracks that go through Walnut Hill. That would mean it would need to change tracks in Atmore and cross over Hwy 31, but to my knowledge there’s no way to do that anymore. I don’t believe those tracks are owned by CSX, only the ones that are parallel to Hwy 31.
AMTRAK will never be viable on tracks owned/controlled by CSX where the freight trains always have priority. When there is a lot of freight traffic the AMTRAK train sits on a siding, sometimes for hours, waiting for clearance. The volume of traffic that AMTRAK requires to be feasible will never materialize across North Florida or South Alabama.
What would be viable is a round trip excursion train running twice a week to New Orleans and twice a week to Jacksonville departing on the same days every week but not promising an arrival time at either destination, This would allow a traveler to connect with AMTRAK on the East coast at Jacksonville and the west/mid-west AMTRAK service at New Orleans, An excursion train would make possible other destinations any where there was a demand. It would be great to hop a train to NO or Jax to spend a few days in those cities.
it won’t slow down coming through flomaton and century. i guess you can wave at it as it goes by.
I think rail travel has many benefits. Cheaper than flying, more space private cabins, even better think of all the towns cities and scenery you would enjoy. I do wish we had high speed rail like Europe, Asia and Japan. Those bullet trains are near fast as a plane. Infrastructure needs updating, we are falling behind the other western countries sadly.
I took the train from Pensacola station to Seattle back when it was connected through. It was a 3-day train ride and probably the most fun traveling I ever had. It only costs $420 for 2 people round trip in coach. You’d think that would be bad, but its not! You can move around the cars, there’s a dining car, a smoking car, an observation car, a theater car, a bar, etc. It’s a city on the tracks. You can buy store-type items like sandwiches, drinks, chips, and 3 meals a day at a reasonable price. I might just plan a vacation by train again if they connect it back!