Earlier this month, Gov. Jeff Landry told The Advocate that he was not opposed to establishing passenger rail service between Baton Rouge and New Orleans but that he would “much rather fix our roads.” More specifically, Landry said he would rather see both sides of Interstate 10 widened to three lanes along the proposed passenger rail route. So given those comments from the governor, what does the future of the passenger rail project look like? John Spain, a member of the Southern Rail Commission and senior adviser to the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, tells Daily Report that he was actually encouraged by Landry’s comments because they “left the door open” for pursuing both highway improvements and the passenger rail project. “This is one of those really rare opportunities where the governor can do both,” Spain says. “He doesn’t have to choose. It’s important to remember that federal funding operates in different pots. There’s a pot for highway and there’s a pot for railroad. The highway money doesn’t take away from the railroad money and vice versa.” Spain says the I-10 project and the passenger rail project are complementary, not mutually exclusive. That’s because passenger rail service could help alleviate traffic congestion while work on the I-10 project is carried out and beyond. “When you look at the future of transportation in our state, you can continue to improve existing highways while also looking at a multimodal solution that might include passenger rail,” Spain says. “You can have the best of both worlds—using passenger rail service to take some of the traffic off of the interstate both at its current width and even after additional lanes are added.” The passenger rail project has been in the works for a number of years, though securing the necessary federal funding has emerged as a key hurdle. In October 2023, then-Gov. John Bel Edwards signed an agreement with Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner that laid the foundation for the resumption of passenger rail service between Louisiana’s two largest cities, a route last available in 1969. Around the same time, the state applied for a $200 million federal grant to fund the project. Though that application was ultimately denied, the Department of Transportation and Development did receive $500,000 to complete an environmental study and a service development plan. Spain says more federal funding opportunities are likely to become available in the near future as President Joe Biden has allocated billions to intercity rail projects across the country as part of his Investing in America agenda. Spain also says that Amtrak, a key partner in the project, has indicated its readiness to provide necessary resources like crews and trains if the project moves forward. However, the project timeline remains dependent on state approval and cooperation between various stakeholders, including the federal government and private entities. “Once a decision has been made by all of the parties involved, I think it’s probably still true that you could see passenger rail service within 24 to 36 months,” Spain says. If the plan comes to fruition, two train stops would be located in Baton Rouge. One would likely be located downtown at the intersection of Government and 14th streets, and another in the Baton Rouge Health District to facilitate medically necessary evacuations in the event of a major storm.