Officials hope Amtrak’s return will spur Coast economic, business growth

• Senator Wicker was in Gulfport Tuesday to celebrate the return of passenger rail, a project he’s worked on since taking office in 2007.

Mississippi U.S. Senator Roger Wicker was on the Coast Tuesday morning to celebrate Amtrak’s return. He visited Pop Brothers, a local popsicle small business, on Highway 49 less than mile from the Gulf to speak on the importance of passenger rail.

Wicker took up the mantle of restoring the public transit option in 2007 when he entered the U.S. Senate following the resignation of former U.S. Senator Trent Lott. Lott had championed Amtrak’s return since it ended 19 years ago after Hurricane Katrina severely impacted south Mississippi and southeast Louisiana.

“This is a project of reestablishing this passenger rail that Senator Trent Lott was working on diligently during the last few years of his time in office,” Wicker said, adding, “It has been a long-term process.”

The process of bringing back the passenger rail

The City of Mobile was the final holdout on the New Orleans to Mobile passenger rail route, but its City Council unanimously approved the necessary agreements earlier this month, clearing the way for Amtrak’s return.

There will be four stops on the Mississippi Coast, in the cities of Pascagoula, Biloxi, Gulfport and Bay St. Louis.

All four Mississippi cities, as well as the City of New Orleans, completed their portion of the necessary work to return the passenger rail service over the last few years in collaboration with the Southern Rail Commission. This included upgrades to local train depots and platforms.

Senator Wicker thanked local governments and small businesses on the Mississippi Coast for supporting Amtrak’s return. The hope is that commuting workers and tourists will take advantage of the transportation option.

“It’s high time that we gave the people of the Gulf Coast again after almost two decades the option of having passenger rail over to Mobile or over to New Orleans,” Wicker said.

Gulfport Mayor Billy Hewes commended Senator Wicker’s focus. He said Amtrak would be huge for the local economy.

“Bringing this passenger rail back is huge for us as a community. Our bread and butter is tourism. We talk about the fabric of our community, the things that make it, and I think it’s the diversity of our economy,” Hewes said. “This is just one more component to bring people down here to the ‘Secret Coast’ and introduce them to what we have and what we tend to enjoy on a regular basis.”

Pop Brothers owner Shannon Arzola said she excited to “get new friends into downtown Gulfport.”

“It’s a win for us. We get lots of tourists all year lost from all parts of the United States and beyond. So, we’re thrilled,” Arzola said.

Officials anticipate the passenger rail service to resume in spring 2025, with stops across the Coast twice daily.