Twice-daily passenger train service from New Orleans to Mobile is in the pipeline to be up and running by Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, and it could also be a tool for economic growth.
GNO Inc. President and CEO Michael Hecht says more options to get people back and forth across the Gulf south is a good thing:
"The more that you can connect people through the region and give them options to sample all the various tourist and frankly business opportunities along the gulf, the better," said Hecht.
Hecht says the Amtrak rail service will primarily be used by tourists, at least at first.
"It's going to start out more as a leisure tool," he said, but if the demand is there, then it may evolve.
"As that popularity builds, and as we're able to build frequency, then it becomes plausible for people to use it to commute," Hecht said.
Success of the New Orleans to Mobile line, said Hecht, may help make the argument for a similar rail link between the Crescent City and Baton Rouge.
"The hope is that the New Orleans-Mobile train will serve as a bit of a proof-of-concept," he said. "I think that if it works and it demonstrates that it's viable, that's going to provide momentum for restarting the talks (for passenger rail) between New Orleans and Baton rouge."
