Amtrak and Southern Rail Commission (SCR) entered a partnership to apply for federal funds to develop a study on a new service on NY City – Dallas railway route.
The new service across Mississippi and Louisiana to Texas, from New York City, Atlanta to Dallas/Fort Worth will extend Amtrak Crescent train service from Meridian across Mississippi and Louisiana to Texas along Interstate 20. The Crescent train service connects New York and New Orleans via Atlanta.
“As the entity responsible for providing the nation’s long-distance intercity passenger rail service, Amtrak will work with our partners to seek the funds needed to study expansion and improvement options where strong stakeholder support exists and initial analysis show opportunity,” Amtrak Network Development Vice President Nicole Bucich said.
The 2022 Congressional passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act creates the opportunities to study possible expanded long-distance Amtrak service. If the study is funded under the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Federal-State Partnership Programme and if it produces a sufficient business case for a direct connection between the Northeast Corridor and fast-growing areas in the South and West, Amtrak would partner with the SRC and others to seek federal capital and operating support to initiate the service.
The rail operator will set the stage for such a study in an agreement with Canadian Pacific Railway (CP), which has acquired the route now being subject to regulatory approval. Among other parties would be Norfolk Southern Railway, which shares the ownership of the line with Kansas City Southern (KCS). Amtrak has endorsed CP’s combination with KCS and in 2022 the two operators signed an agreement that also provides for future service on a route owned by KCS between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. This project consists of the delivery of two daily trips with stops in Baton Rouge downtown connecting other districts and Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport
Amtrak explored the NY City – Dallas railway service for more than 20 years and now is part of the “More Trains for More People” programme under which Amtrak will deliver more frequent and reliable intercity rail passenger service to over 160 more communities and 20 million more passengers annually until 2035.
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