Major Cities: Houston, New Orleans, Mobile, Meridian, Birmingham, Atlanta 

Overview: The designated Gulf Coast Corridor would use New Orleans as its hub, with three spokes reaching (1) Houston, (2) Mobile, and (3) Birmingham and Atlanta. At Atlanta, the Gulf Coast Corridor would connect with the Southeast Corridor to Charlotte, Richmond, Washington, and Northeast Corridor points. At present, no corridor-type intercity rail service operates in this corridor, although Louisiana has been working with Amtrak and the Kansas City Southern to initiate a commuter service between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The FRA has made study grants to the Southern High-Speed Rail Commission (SHSRC, formerly known as the Southern Rapid Rail Transit Commission), which comprises appointees of the three member states (Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama).

Status: Current activity includes a Baton Rouge to New Orleans conceptual engineering study and a New Orleans gateway rail improvement project.

Gulf Coast Corridor Contacts
Organization	Personal Contact	Topics
Southern Rapid Rail Transit Commission   c/o Regional Planning Commission 1340 Poydras Street, Suite 2100  New Orleans, LA  701112	Tel: 504-568-6620 Fax: 504-568-6643	Amtrak; high-speed rail.
Louisiana DOTD 1201 Capitol Access Road - Room 211 P.O Box 94245 - Section 81 Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9245	Sharon Balfour DOTD Intermodal Transportation Administrator Tel: 225-274-4350 Fax: 225-274-4219 sbalfour@dotd.louisiana.gov	Amtrak; high-speed rail; freight; grade crossings.
Mississippi DOT P.O. Box 1850 Jackson, MS 39215-1850	Steven Edwards Rails Engineer Tel: 601-359-7910 Fax: 601-359-7855 sedwards@mdot.state.ms.us	Amtrak; high-speed rail; freight; grade crossings.
Alabama DOT 1100 John Overton Drive Montgomery, AL 36110	Craig Thomas Rail Manager Tel: 334-353-6449 Fax: 334-353-6451 thomascg@dot.state.al.us	Amtrak; high-speed rail; freight; grade crossings.