Amtrak is coming back to Mobile. It's the talk of the town right now and soon, people will see Amtrak coming in and out of Mobile twice a day.
"You hear a lot of people talking about it on social media that I have the opportunity to go to New Orleans and vice versa," Mobile City Councilmember Cory Penn said.
It's also a new way to travel after 17 years.
"Bay St. Louis and these smaller coastal communities, what a great win for them," David Clark said. "I think it's a story beyond just Mobile, it's a story about all the Gulf Coast winning."
Clark sits on the Southern Rail Commission. He's been on it for five years. Clark is also the President and CEO of Visit Mobile.
"We meet in New Orleans on Mar. 10 to discuss the next step of Amtrak, but it looks like it's going to get to the goal line, and we'll have passenger services within the next 15 to 18 months," Clark said.
Clark said that's a give or take estimate. Service could start in 2023, according to Amtrak.
"The better news beyond that is that if they have a CRISI Grant, which is the Consolidated Railway Infrastructure Safety Improvement grant. Since last time, it's doubled so it's over $40 million of resources, so the money is there," Clark said.
Part of the agreement between Amtrak, the Alabama Port Authority, CSX, and Norfolk Southern is adding another track in Mobile.
"And these grants, are they going towards fixing the train stop and adding that extra track?" NBC 15's Lisa Librenjak asked.
"And that can be...and they'll probably be some more continued collaboration with obviously our mayor and city council as to what those resources look like and you know, do we put a station here and at Brookley?" Clark said. "Kind of a thing that we all talked about is our new airport moving downtown early 2025 and being fully operational. Could we put a little track over there and stop there?"
At 10 a.m. on Wednesday in Pascagoula at the future Amtrak station platform, Amtrak Representatives along with folks from the Southern Rail Commission will take part in a public education campaign so crews can get familiar with rail safety.