Last month, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) held a two-day hearing to obtain public comments on Amtrak's proposed Gulf Coast passenger-rail service. Amtrak wants the STB to require CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway to allow the intercity passenger railroad to operate two daily round trips on the Class Is' track between New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama. Amtrak hasn't operated Gulf Coast service since Hurricane Katrina damaged rail infrastructure there in 2005. During the hearing, STB members heard a wide variety of opinions from political, business and public policy leaders, as well as interested members of the public. In his testimony, Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose said the board's decision on the case "will be pivotal to the future development of intercity passenger rail" in the United States. "We believe it is imperative that the board use its authority to ensure that host freight railroads fulfill their fundamental statutory obligations to allow the expansion and improvement of intercity passenger-rail services," Bose said.
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