Southern Rail Commission Receives $33 Million in Federal Funding

Train station Photo by Chris Yang on Unsplash

The co-founder of the investment firm SmithMack, LLC, J. William “Billy” McFarland, Jr., is an accomplished financial executive based in Birmingham, Alabama. Alongside the management responsibilities at his firm, J. William McFarland, Jr. serves on the Southern High-Speed Rail Commission, an appointee of the Alabama governor.

Recently, the Federal Railroad Administration awarded a $33 million grant to the Southern Rail Commission to fund upgrades to rail infrastructure that was damaged by Hurricane Katrina more than 14 years ago. The federal funding is expected to cover about half of the project’s nearly $66 million price tag, with the rest being funded by investments made by Amtrak and several of the Gulf Coasts states.

After the upgrades are complete, the Southern Rail Commission anticipates launching a new Amtrak passenger line connecting Mobile, Alabama to New Orleans, Louisiana, which would replace the discontinued Sunset Limited east route. Restoring passenger rail service symbolizes the large steps the Gulf Coasts states have made in the extended recovery effort after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.