SMART Launches in New Orleans

Citizens, business and political leaders kick off group urging restoration and improvement of Gulf Coast train service

Release #08-02—January 19, 2008

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New Orleans, LA—The Sunset Marketing and Revitalization Team (SMART), a grassroots, passenger rail advocacy group, hosted its first formal meeting at the Union Passenger Terminal in New Orleans.
Formed as a citizen-based movement in 2007, and patterned after the Texas Eagle Marketing and Performance Organization (TEMPO) that has advocated for and improved service in the heartland,  SMART seeks to bring citizens, policymakers, and local business leaders together to improve and expand passenger trains along the Gulf Coast.

“SMART came together because people across the southern tier of the United States are puzzled and dismayed that Amtrak keeps postponing decisions on the future of the Sunset Limited,” said Matthew Melzer, Communications Associate for the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP), one of the founding members of SMART.  The Sunset Limited, which normally runs between Los Angeles and Orlando, was truncated at New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and its eastern segment never reinstated despite restoration of rail lines by CSX Transportation.

“Today’s trackage is superior to what existed pre-Katrina, citizen demand continues high, and yet Amtrak has not restored the service, leaving entire communities stranded with no easy access to alternatives and at the mercy of $3 per gallon gas prices,” said Melzer, who noted that communities between New Orleans and Orlando would benefit from the nationwide access afforded by reliable, efficient passenger rail service.

Annual ridership on the Sunset Limited grew 22.1% for the 2007 fiscal year.  Restoring service to its pre-Katrina level would let tens of thousands more Americans take part in this renaissance.  Before Katrina, the New Orleans-Orlando segment accounted for 28% of route miles, but 39% of ridership and 41% of revenue.

SMART welcomed at the meeting representatives from Amtrak, hoping to build a constructive relationship with all Sunset Limited stakeholders.  SMART was also honored to welcome John Robert Smith, Mayor of Meridian, MS and former Amtrak board chairman, as well as Karen Parsons, Executive Director of the Southern Rapid Rail Transit Commission and Gwenn Voigts, President of the Pass Christian, MS Chamber of Commerce.

Several representatives from TEMPO were also at the meeting.  TEMPO celebrated its tenth anniversary last year after a decade of leveraging a broad coalition between passenger rail, civic, and business interests to not only save Amtrak’s Texas Eagle, but improve onboard amenities, upgrade stations, and improve both schedule and performance of the service that connects Chicago, San Antonio, and Los Angeles.

TEMPO’s work has also led to restoration of train stations along the Texas Eagle route, helping towns to leverage their stations as points of civic pride and historical importance, while boosting the appeal for potential tourists and making the train travel option more inviting and hospitable for local residents.

“It will take a concerted effort by all communities and leaders along the route in order to bring about a resumption and improvement of Sunset service,” said Richard L. Wright, member of SMART.

Melzer praised the efforts of groups such as SMART and TEMPO.  “Americans in cities large and small overwhelmingly favor having the passenger train option in their communities, and these grassroots citizen teams are effective in highlighting the benefits,” noted Melzer.  “Politicians have realized that passenger trains provide a bi-partisan solution for our nation’s crises in energy and mobility, and citizens of the Sunset Limited route stand to enjoy improved mobility and an enhanced quality of life when Amtrak service improves to pre-Katrina levels and beyond.”