$20 million grant awarded for train from Baton Rouge to New Orleans; $13 million to downtown station

Great news coming out of the Gulf coast.

Members of the Louisiana congressional delegation have announced that the cities of Baton Rouge and Gonzales will receive $20 million for new stations along the Baton Rouge-New Orleans passenger service.

With the grant funds acquired, the money will be used for real estate acquisition, design and construction of the Baton Rouge and Gonzales train stations. Of the $20 million, $13 million has been designated specifically to the initial phase of the Baton Rouge Downtown Station, bringing the station into ADA compliance. Overall the construction should cost around $46 million with much of the funds coming from local sources.

Eventually Baton Rouge plans to have two stations along the corridor. The first being the downtown station and a second station in the city's health district. The connection will provide increased mobility and the potential for a future commuter service.

Click here to see station rendering and construction plans.

This link between Baton Rouge and New Orleans has long been proposed but until recently has been stifled by capacity issues. However, with the merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern new life has been brought to this project. Initially Canadian Pacific has agreed to allow one daily round trip between Baton Rouge and New Orleans with intermediate stops in: Gonzales, La Place and the New Orleans international Airport.