The City of Live Oak would like Amtrak and the Southern Rail Commission to consider making Live Oak an “East of NOLA Route” stop. Live Oak believes it can be another one of Amtrak’s success stories because it would generate between $12.25 and $12.72 million annually for Amtrak.
Located in the center of the North Florida Business Diamond (Tallahassee, Valdosta, Jacksonville and Gainesville) near the crossroads of I-75 and I-10, Live Oak already is a hub for art, music and ecotourism. Along with its springs, trails and the Suwannee River, Live Oak is home to the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park which hosts more than 600,000 guests annually, most of whom would be open to traveling via rail service.
County history, making living “way down upon the Suwannee River” possible for generations, with a depot ready for use in one of the safest areas of the city, downtown.
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 March 15, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) provided an update to the Group on the current status of the report in light of the Commerce Committee’s expectations to receive the final report by late March/early April 2017. The update explains the FRA’s approach to provide a complete report to Congress with all the content required per the FAST Act.
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The stop would offer outstanding opportunities to over 120,000 Live Oak residents and the surrounding South Georgia and North Florida communities for inexpensive, convenient and exhilarating travel to New Orleans, Jacksonville and all the points beyond and in between. |
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Located in the center of the North Florida Business Diamond (Tallahassee, Valdosta, Jacksonville and Gainesville) near the crossroads of I-75 and I-10, Live Oak is served by two interstate highways, three state highways, two regional airports and two international airports. |
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The city and county officials, residents and businesses support the reestablishment of Amtrak services along this important transportation corridor and the establishment of a station stop in the heart of Downtown Live Oak. |
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Live Oak’s remodeled rail station is centrally located in a safe, well-lit area of downtown across from the Fire Station and Chamber of Commerce with an adjacent four-acre parcel available for expansion. |
Investing in the Live Oak Station can be an investment in the future of our community. A renovated train station can inspire real estate growth, dining and entertainment development, tourism and local economic spending.
Suwannee County is home to the historic Suwannee River and boasts of many natural springs, parks, hiking and biking trails.
Live Oak, Fla. was once a railway hub; establishing a connection to that will support our community efforts to revitalize our destination heritage.
Stations offer a return on investment for years to come.
The placement of a stop here in Live Oak would be a huge financial boost not only to our lovely town, but, the entire Suwannee Valley Region.
The inclusion of rail service in Live Oak will establish opportunities to build travel packages with Live Oak as a destination.
We feel this will serve as a similar economic boost for downtown Live Oak and the surrounding businesses and real estate development, creating hundreds of jobs and opportunities. Then Live Oak can be another one of your Amtrak’s success stories.
I am confident that many [tourists] would be happy to utilize Amtrak as a means of transportation to our area… The local transportation service, SVTA, is located 1.9 miles from the deport and will be available to provide transportation services for passengers from the train deport to a number of locations.
Our [The Spirit of Suwannee Music Park] marketing director posted a poll of our customers on social media seeking to determine the interest in using rail service. The overwhelming response was an enthusiastic ‘yes!’
The Suwannee River is one of eight magnificent waterways in North Central Florida. It proudly boasts to be the ‘diving capital of the world’… What a ‘Point of Destination’ for international and domestic visitors to the North Central Florida area.
We [The Spirit of Suwannee Music Park] believe that our client base would welcome opportunities to travel by rail. We encourage your support to establish rail service in Live Oak, Fla.
We [the Suwannee County Economic Development Office] most definitely support the partnership between Amtrak and the Southern Rail Commission (SRC) to run a daily service train from New Orleans to Orlando, and then a supplemental service from Mobile, Ala., to New Orleans.
