Marks moving closer to hosting Amtrak stop
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Transportation officials joined Quitman County Administrator Velma Wilson last week for a diagnostic inspection of the site designated for loading and unloading Amtrak passengers. MDOT engineer (from left) Joshua Stubbs, Wilson, Troy Hill of Greenwood Engineering, MDOT engineer Brian Copeland and CN National Manager of Public Works John Dinning met at the site where Amtrak plans to establish a flag stop as soon as the facility can be completed. Photo courtesy The Quitman County Democrat
Quitman County officials are moving ahead with plans for an October groundbreaking for a new Amtrak stop in Marks.
Quitman County Administrator Verma Wilson met at the railside construction site recently with representatives of the engineering firm, Canadian National Railroad (CN) and the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) for a diagnostic inspection.
The Quitman County Democrat reported that the inspection “went well.”
Northwest Mississippi has been without a rail passenger station since 1995 when Amtrak moved its trains from the Grenada line, which passes through Batesville, to the Valley line, which follows a mostly-Delta route from Memphis to Jackson, MS.
Government officials from Quitman and surrounding counties have been working to bring a flag stop to Marks ever since.
The effort was spurred when Quitman County was awarded a $500,000 grant through MDOT from Federal Highway Administration funds. Quitman County secured the required 20 percent grant match through the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA), according to the report.
Northern District Highway Commissioner Mike Tagert will speak at the October 7 groundbreaking, which will also kick off Quitman’s Second Annual Mules and Blues Festival.
