How the Gulf Coast train beef between Amtrak and CSX is intensifying

BAY ST. LOUIS – Marc Magilari leaned against a railing at a community civic center, perched above the railway as a CSX freight train roared by.

It was the fourth train to come through Bay St. Louis that Wednesday, just after 4 p.m. Magilari, a spokesman for Amtrak, and a small camera had been keeping watch since 8 a.m. to survey the train traffic. It rolled footage of hours of empty tracks live on Twitch.

In a railroad beef that’s been building for years, Amtrak has turned to live streams, snarky tweets and time lapse videos to help prove its point: Passenger and freight trains can coexist on the railways that run through Mississippi from Mobile to New Orleans.

“We can help people in this town,” Magilari said during his Bay St. Louis visit. “That’s why we’re here.”

Amtrak wants to expand access to public transportation. CSX and other freight companies say the addition of passengers at this time could heighten supply chain issues and harm businesses relying on the Port of Mobile.

Read more: https://www.meridianstar.com/news/local_news/how-the-gulf-coast-train-beef-between-amtrak-and-csx-is-intensifying/article_b27caff4-8a68-55f0-ae1f-bd15daf16d67.html