Support builds for return of Jacksonville-New Orleans route

[blizz01]

Sunset Limited may rise again Larry Hannan - Florida Times Union

The Sunset Limited Amtrak Route from Orlando to New Orleans has been gone since Hurricane Katrina damaged the CSX train tracks in 2005.
But after almost four years of inaction, politicians and various community groups in at least three states have begun advocating for the return of the train route, which runs through Jacksonville.
Supporters of the Sunset say they are optimistic that the new administration will mean Washington is more open. Both Barack Obama and Joe Biden were vocal Amtrak supporters in the Senate.
“The political climate seems to be turning in our favor,” said Barbara Tucker,  a resident of Hurley, Miss.
Tucker is a member of the Sunset Marketing and Revitalization Team, or SMART, a group that formed to advocate for the route’s return. SMART, the Florida Coalition of Rail Passengers and the National Association of Rail Passengers are all advocating for the Sunset’s return at the same time as Amtrak has begun conducting a feasibility study.
The damaged tracks have been repaired, and CSX says it has no objections. But low ridership before Katrina hit has Amtrak hesitating. About 81,000 people rode the line in 2005, down from 96,246 in 2004.
U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla., who chairs a rail subcommittee, has insisted that Amtrak look into re-establishing the route. She inserted a requirement into recent Amtrak legislation that mandated the rail agency do at least that by the summer.
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari  said the study into feasibility and cost is under way and will be submitted to Congress by July. A process is also being developed that will seek public feedback, but he couldn’t comment on what that process would be.
Ross Capon,  spokesman for the National Association of Rail Passengers, said the Southeast is the only part of the continental United States that lacks an east-west Amtrak line. Several routes run through Florida, but they all go in a north-south direction.
Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton sent a letter to Amtrak asking that the route, which still runs from Los Angeles to New Orleans, be re-extended to help with area tourism.
Stephen Sayles,  president of the Florida Coalition of Rail Passengers, said his group is trying to let people know about the practical impact of having an east-west Amtrak route in the Southeast.
Such a route could keep cars off the road, and give people an alternative when they travel along the Gulf Coast, Sayles said.

[thelakelander]

I wonder would Peyton send a letter to FDOT to support Amtrak down the FEC? 

[mtraininjax]

Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton sent a letter to Amtrak asking that the route...be re-extended to help with area tourism.

And Fox News will be there to carry the creation of a special station located next to the Trail Ridge Landfill, to help boost tourism to the next largest boondoggle of Duval County, after the Courthouse, and bankrupt shipyards....