The Gulf Breeze at Montgomery in March 1995, days before being discontinued
Amtrak introduced the Gulf Breeze on October 27, 1989 as a section of the Crescent (New York City–New Orleans).[1] 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.[2] The last Gulf Breeze ran on 1 April 1995, and was replaced by bus service.[3]
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.[4]
Route
The Gulf Breeze split from the Crescent at Birmingham and ran south through Montgomery to Mobile on the Gulf of Mexico, while the Crescent continued southwest through Mississippi to New Orleans. At the time Mobile was served also by the Sunset Limited (Orlando, Florida–Los Angeles, California).[5]
The Gulf Breeze served the following communities, in southbound order:
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.
References
^"Gulf Breeze button". Amtrak.com. November 14, 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
^Diehl, Stan (15 Dec 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. 3 Apr 1995.
^"The little train route that could gets the go-ahead". Coast Business. 10 Apr 1995. p. 7.
^Durantine, Peter (13 Nov 1989). "Orient Express-Style Train Launches Washington to Chicago Run". Washington Business Journal. p. 31.
External links
Media related to Gulf Breeze (train) at Wikimedia Commons
Southern High-Speed Rail Commission
January 06, 2023
gulf, breeze, train, gulf, breeze, daily, passenger, train, operated, amtrak, between, york, city, mobile, alabama, section, crescent, trains, split, birmingham, with, gulf, breeze, serving, additional, seven, stations, alabama, mile, route, south, gulf, coast. The Gulf Breeze was a daily passenger train operated by Amtrak between New York City and Mobile Alabama as a section of the Crescent The two trains split in Birmingham with the Gulf Breeze serving an additional seven stations in Alabama on a 275 mile 443 km route south to the Gulf Coast Service ran from 1989 until 1995 Gulf BreezeThe Gulf Breeze at Montgomery in June 1990OverviewService typeInter city railSystemAmtrakStatusDiscontinuedLocaleEastern United StatesFirst serviceOctober 27 1989Last serviceApril 1 1995Former operator s AmtrakRouteTerminiNew York New YorkMobile AlabamaStops31Distance travelled1 299 miles 2 091 km New York Mobile 275 miles 443 km Birmingham Mobile Service frequencyDaily each wayTrain number s 519 520On board servicesClass es Standard and first classSeating arrangementsReserved Coach SeatSleeping arrangementsRoomette BedroomsCatering facilitiesDining Car Lounge CarBaggage facilitiesChecked baggage available at stations north of BirminghamTechnicalTrack gauge4 ft 8 1 2 in 1 435 mm Track owner s CSX TransportationRoute mapLegendNortheast Corridor to Boston0 mi New York CityNYNJ Hudson RiverNorth River Tunnels10 mi16 km Newark Penn58 mi93 km TrentonNJPA91 mi146 km Philadelphia 30th StreetPADE116 mi187 km WilmingtonDEMD185 mi298 km BaltimoreMDDC225 mi362 km Washington D C DCVA234 mi377 km Alexandria258 mi415 km Manassas292 mi470 km Culpeper337 mi542 km Charlottesville398 mi641 km Lynchburg461 mi742 km DanvilleVANC512 mi824 km Greensboro524 mi843 km High Point558 mi898 km Salisbury601 mi967 km Charlotte625 mi1006 km GastoniaNCSC678 mi1091 km Spartanburg709 mi1141 km Greenville739 mi1189 km ClemsonSCGA772 mi1242 km Toccoa810 mi1304 km Gainesville858 mi1381 km AtlantaGAAL960 mi1545 km Anniston1024 mi1648 km BirminghamCrescent to New Orleans1120 mi1802 km Montgomery1164 mi1873 km Greenville1201 mi1933 km Evergreen1225 mi1971 km BrewtonSunset Limited to Miami post 1993 1254 mi2018 km Atmore1274 mi2050 km Bay Minette1299 mi2091 km MobileSunset Limited to Los Angeles post 1993 This diagram viewtalkedit Contents 1 History 2 Route 3 References 4 External linksHistory Edit The Gulf Breeze at Montgomery in March 1995 days before being discontinued Amtrak introduced the Gulf Breeze on October 27 1989 as a section of the Crescent New York City New Orleans 1 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 2 The last Gulf Breeze ran on 1 April 1995 and was replaced by bus service 3 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 4 Route EditThe Gulf Breeze split from the Crescent at Birmingham and ran south through Montgomery to Mobile on the Gulf of Mexico while the Crescent continued southwest through Mississippi to New Orleans At the time Mobile was served also by the Sunset Limited Orlando Florida Los Angeles California 5 The Gulf Breeze served the following communities in southbound order Birmingham Alabama Montgomery Alabama Greenville Alabama Evergreen Alabama Brewton Alabama Atmore Alabama Bay Minette Alabama Mobile AlabamaOf 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 References Edit Gulf Breeze button Amtrak com November 14 2012 Retrieved 3 September 2014 Diehl Stan 15 Dec 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 3 Apr 1995 The little train route that could gets the go ahead Coast Business 10 Apr 1995 p 7 Durantine Peter 13 Nov 1989 Orient Express Style Train Launches Washington to Chicago Run Washington Business Journal p 31 External links Edit Media related to Gulf Breeze train at Wikimedia Commons Southern High Speed Rail Commission Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gulf Breeze train amp oldid 1115490512, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
