By Staff
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor,
Action on the part of residents is urgently needed to restore Amtrak train service to Atmore.
As you know, until Hurricane Katrina, Amtrak's Sunset Limited linked Atmore to Mobile, coastal Mississippi, New Orleans and points west, and to Florida cities like Jacksonville and Orlando. The popular service was greatly important to tourism and commerce.
Hurricane Katrina passed through the upper Gulf Coast states many months ago now. The Sunset Limited has long resumed running westbound from New Orleans, but Amtrak has yet to announce a date that Sunset Limited service will resume east, despite the fact that hurricane-damaged railroad tracks, signals, and bridges have long been rebuilt along this route.
Our group continues to lead a campaign to encourage Amtrak to immediately resume full train service to the route of the Sunset Limited, including to Atmore. I encourage Atmore residents to appeal to Amtrak's new CEO, Alexander Lummnat, and members of Atmore's Congressional delegation on this issue.
Mr. Kummant's contact information is as follows:
Mr. Alexander Kummant
President/CEO
Amtrak
60 Massachusetts Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002
We hope that the citizens of Atmore will tell Mr. Kummant and Congress that Amtrak service in this region should be restored to its pre-Katrina schedule and route as soon as possible.
Cordially yours,
Jackson McQuigg
President
Florida Coalition of Rail Passengers
E-mail: fcrp@lycos.com