| Gulf Breeze | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 The Greenville, Alabama L&N depot. |
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| Info | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type | Inter-city rail | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| System | Amtrak | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Discontinued | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | Alabama | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Termini | Birmingham, Alabama Mobile, Alabama |
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| Operation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1989 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Closed | 1995 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owner | CSXT (track) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operator(s) | Amtrak | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line length | 275 miles (443 km) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 4 ft 81⁄2 in (1,435 mm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Gulf Breeze was a 275-mile (443 km) daily passenger train operated by Amtrak between Birmingham and Mobile in the U.S. state of Alabama.
Contents |
History
Amtrak introduced the Gulf Breeze in October 1989 as an adjunct to the Crescent (New York–New Orleans). Costs of operation were split between Amtrak and the state, with the latter contributing about $1.3 million per year. Annual ridership in FY 1994, the last full year of operation, was 7,737. In December 1994 Amtrak announced that the Gulf Breeze would be discontinued as part of a broad cost-cutting measure which saw other services eliminated or reduced.[1] The last Gulf Breeze ran on April 1, 1995, and was replaced by bus service.[2]
Later that year attempts were made under the auspices of the Southern High Speed Rail Commission to resurrect the Gulf Breeze as a Mobile–New Orleans service, sharing part of the Sunset Limited's route. This was eventually realized as the Gulf Coast Limited, a joint effort between Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana which operated 1996–1997.[3]
Route
The Gulf Breeze originated in New York City as the Crescent, but split at Birmingham and ran south through Montgomery to Mobile on the Gulf of Mexico, while the Crescent continued southwest through Mississippi to Louisiana. At the time Mobile was served also by the Sunset Limited (Orlando–Los Angeles).[4]
The Gulf Breeze served the following communities:
- Birmingham, Alabama
- Montgomery, Alabama
- Greenville, Alabama
- Evergreen, Alabama
- Brewton, Alabama
- Atmore, Alabama
- Bay Minette, Alabama
- Mobile, Alabama
Of these, Birmingham is still served by the Crescent, while Mobile and Atmore were served by the Sunset Limited prior to Hurricane Katrina, which saw the shortening of that line to New Orleans. The remainder no longer have passenger rail service.
See also
External links
 External images |
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A Gulf Breeze headed by an F40PH northbound near Flomaton, Alabama in December 1990. [5] |
References
- ^ Diehl, Stan (December 15, 1994). "CUTS BIRMINGHAM TO MOBILE LINK RAIL SERVICE PRUNED NATIONWIDE". Birmingham News.
- ^ "AMTRAK ELIMINATES GULF BREEZE TRAIN SERVICE; REPLACES WITH THRUWAY BUS SERVICE". PR Newswire. April 3, 1995.
- ^ "The little train route that could gets the go-ahead". Coast Business: p. 7. April 10, 1995.
- ^ Durantine, Peter (November 13, 1989). "Orient Express-Style Train Launches Washington to Chicago Run". Washington Business Journal: p. 31.
- ^ Gary Morris. "Amtrak 3". A Few Railroad Pixs. http://www.railpixs.com/amt3/amt3.html. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
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