A passenger rail link between Baton Rouge and New Orleans is one step closer after officials from Canadian Pacific Railway, which is close to gaining ownership of the tracks between the two cities, committed to re-introducing service on the line.
Canadian Pacific shareholders on Wednesday approved a $31 billion takeover of Kansas City Southern, which owns the local train lines as part of its regional network. Kansas City Southern shareholders are expected to approve the deal later this week.
At the same time James Clements, Canadian Pacific’s head of strategic planning, told Gov. John Bel Edwards, business executives and other politicians attending a meeting in New Orleans that Canadian Pacific would now work with state and local governments, passenger rail operator Amtrak and other interested parties to negotiate the process of restarting the local passenger service as soon as possible.
A passenger train has not run between Baton Rouge and New Orleans since 1969.
