Building on regionally-led efforts that have been in work since 2010, there is a federally chartered working group created by the FAST Act of 2015 actively determining how to restore passenger rail service across America’s southern coast – the Gulf Coast Working Group (GCWG). On September 1, the Group sent an update to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and other members of the senate and congress. This letter identified the preferred service as a daily overnight long-distance train operating between New Orleans and Orlando. The update notes the conditions of existing infrastructure, the level of regional support and these next steps in finalizing their formal report to congress:
- Determine infrastructure necessary to support daily service
- Develop initial capital cost estimates
- Identify potential funding sources
- Document potential benefits and challenges to implementation
- Final editing, review and submission
