Politics may impact expansion plan
Amtrak looks to bolster service across the South
Over the past few years, Amtrak’s plans for expansion have stirred the politics of some communities across the South and complicated the rail agency’s attempt to bolster passenger service in the region.
The former chief port executive of Mobile, Ala., Jimmy Lyons, said he was scared to death that Amtrak might take jobs away from the port, as the national rail system seeks to expand a stretch of track from New Orleans for passenger travel.
Despite the opposition, the city’s plans to greenlight the expansion are underway, and congressional lawmakers have backed the development. But Amtrak officials and rail experts said there were lessons to be learned from the tensions in Mobile, which may replay across the country as Amtrak tries to significantly expand passenger train service nationwide by 2035.
“I think it’s always a challenge,” Stephen Gardner, president of Amtrak, said. “We do have to have a robust engagement. We’ve
got to be able to tell the story of how services like these work and point to places where we’ve had big success.”
Expanding nationwide service has been an elusive goal for Amtrak. Since 1971, the rail routes it offers to customers has largely remained unchanged.
In the fall, Amtrak officials released details on its nationwide expansion efforts, which would cost $25 billion and take 15 years to complete. The vision was centered on creating corridors — similar to the highly trafficked segment between Boston
and Washington — all across the country.
The goal, officials said, is to create rail offerings in areas where there are dense clusters of population and passengers looking for an alternative to airplanes for trips under 400 miles. Achieving this, they added, would help Amtrak achieve profitability and adapt its network to where the U.S. population is growing.
“The network has not changed with the nation,” Gardner said.
Rail experts said the expansion plan had support from members of
Congress and numerous state leaders. But they noted that the situation in Mobile showed the difficulties in realizing Amtrak’s growth plans.
Jim Mathews, president of the Rail Passengers Association, said it was not uncommon for communities to see the debate fracture into an argument over whether local funds should go toward subsidizing rail travel for the wealthy, and something Amtrak might see crop up in future expansion efforts.
“They will deploy the old arguments because they do resonate,” Mathews
said, adding that Amtrak must shift the conversation toward the economic benefits of expanding rail service.
Economic studies have been commissioned to show the benefits that passenger rail service bring to a community. Nationwide, the Rail Passengers Association predicts that Amtrak’s services create $7 billion to $8 billion in annual economic benefit.
John Robert Smith, a former board chairman of Amtrak, said negotiating with freight rail companies could also delay Amtrak’s expansion plans. Freight companies own a majority of the United States’ railroad tracks, but federal law requires them to give Amtrak access and preference for use.
Historically, this arrangement has caused tension, Smith said. Amtrak has often argued with freight rail companies over terms the companies have proposed to mitigate any financial or operational impact that comes with sharing the tracks, he said.
“If we don’t resolve the issue between passenger rail and the freights, all of the rest of what we’ve talked about is happy talk,” Smith, now chair of Transportation for America, an advocacy group, said, referring to the bipartisan support surrounding railway expansion efforts.
Suffering through an inauspicious start on the road is hardly what the Mekeel Christian Academy boys’ basketball team was looking for Saturday afternoon. Struggling against Green Tech’s pressing tactics was difficult enough to contend with, let alone suffering through a nearly four-minute scoreless drought during the first quarter. The Lions overcame their tame start behind veterans Alex Barnhill and Joe Roddy.
MCA bounced back in a big way in the second quarter to grab the lead, fueled by Barnhill’s all-around excellence, and withstood a late push by the Eagles to register a 73-62 victory.
In the midst of its own sluggish start, MCA (8-0 overall) also had to endure a solid beginning by Green Tech (1-2). Senior forward Trevon Gifford, who previously starred at Mayfield before playing his junior season at SPIRE Institute (Geneva, Ohio), drained a 3-pointer to provide the Eagles a 16-6 advantage.
“They really jumped on us early,” MCA coach Chad Bowman said. “Tre was hitting shots early and we didn’t do a good job of recognizing where he was. We had to take care of the ball better in order for us to score the ball better. We turned it over early and it got their offense going. It also stalled our offense.”
Barnhill, a 6-foot-6 senior who surpassed the 1,000-point plateau in a season-opening win against Hoosic Valley, tallied five points late in the first quarter as the Lions trailed 18-11.
“We had to get more active on defense,” Barnhill said. “I think we were too much in a rush and that is what Green Tech’s game plan was basically: to put us in a rush. That is how they play. We had to get out of doing what they wanted us to do and focus on our game plan.”
Things turned in favor of MCA midway through the second quarter when the Lions produced an 11-0 run to grab a 24-20 lead. Barnhill scored on a pair of beautiful spin moves in the lane and Roddy drained one of his four 3-pointers in the game — one in each quarter — to give his team the lead for good.
“I wish I could hit them all,” said Roddy, who finished with 12 points. “The ones I do get to fall seem to be big.”
Barnhill tallied 18 of his game-high 30 points in the opening half. He started the third quarter by setting up junior point guard Zahki Fallen for a basket.
“He instills the confidence in the players around him by trusting them,” Green Tech coach DJ Jones said of Barnhill.
“Al made a lot of solid decisions,” Bowman said. “He has been part of some really great teams. Before, he did not have to be the man. He is the man now and that is part of his evolution. He can’t just chip in points. He has to do it all for us. Al is the leader of our team.”
“He can do anything,” Roddy said. “What really helps the team is when all those people come down on him, he kicks it out and we have to be ready to play our role and hit some shots. He can draw-andkick, shoot, score, pass, defend and rebound.”
The point production from Barnhill, who also contributed 12 rebounds, and Fallen after intermission hindered Green
Tech’s comeback bid.
“Zahki was outstanding,” Bowman said. “He scored 15 points in the second half and we were able to spread the floor on them. He made some great decisions, either getting the ball to Al or others or getting to the rim and finishing.”
The work on the glass from Barnhill, Roddy and Christian Jahnel helped
produce 17 offensive rebounds.
“We emphasized all week in practice that we had to box out and not give up offensive rebounds. That is where their run started,” Jones said.
The win for the Lions came at a price as senior guard Chris Kane was injured late in the fourth quarter. A trip to the hospital after the game revealed Kane has a broken arm and is done.
“He is a big part of our team. It (stinks) that we lost him, but we can’t dwell on that,” Barnhill said.
“I guess we will play for him now,” Roddy said.
Gifford topped Green Tech with 19 points. Dayshaun Watson added 18 points (15 in the second half ) and Nazier Carter chipped in with 11 points for the Eagles.
Both teams have scheduled four games for the final week of the season. The Eagles, a squad with just three players with varsity experience this season after reaching the Section II Class AA final in 2020, may add a fifth game against one of the top teams from the Suburban Council if one of them falls early in their league tournament.