The Alabama Department of Transportation is asking for the public’s comments for a new State Rail Plan. An online hearing is being held tomorrow night to gather input and feedback. Plans to restore Amtrak passenger service may attract attention. The rail service began test runs in February. Amtrak hasn’t run along the Gulf coast since Hurricane Katrina damaged the track in 2005. The state says the rail plan is used to prioritize investment in rail systems in Alabama.
On the subject of resuming Amtrak service in Alabama, one issue that’s been previously on APR is safety. “I'll tell you that in just the first day and a half, our crews have reported five, that's five close calls with people doing the wrong things on the tracks, so an education effort is pretty well timed, I'm afraid,” said Marc Magliari, an Amtrak spokesman interviewed by APR Gulf coast correspondent Guy Busby. “Five occasions in the first day and a half is pretty worrisome.”
Magliari said Amtrak is starting an education program to prepare Gulf Coast residents for the return of the passenger liners.
“As excited as we are about service starting, and we are, we want to start educating the people about safety along the railroad track. Having trains on these tracks isn't new. Having our trains on these tracks is new. Our trains are smaller, lighter, faster, but even though with those features, they can't stop short of someone who's doing the wrong thing on the tracks. Our freight trains can't and we certainly can't and our mission today is talking about safety education.”
On the subject of the current “shakedown” runs for Amtrak trains…
“Our crews have to be qualified. They have to know the physical characteristics of the route before they can begin service, so we've begun the process of training groups,” said Magliari. He says passenger trains haven’t run this route since 2005, so crews have to become acquainted with the tracks again.
“They have to know what the operating conditions are,” he said. “They have to be familiar with where the signals, where the platforms are so we can stop our trains in the right places and just learn the physical characteristics. That's a federal requirement. That's also an internal Amtrak requirement.”
Magliari said the training runs are getting a warm welcome along the line.
“From the looks of the people who were coming up to us today, people out with cameras just trying to get this little itty-bitty train, there's a lot of interest,” he observed.
Amtrak service is scheduled to resume by the end of 2023.
