All aboard for Shreveport Amtrak stop, more local routes proposed (2025)

Proposed Amtrak stops in Shreveport, Ruston, and Monroe recently got the thumbs up in Washington, according to SporTran CEO Dinero Washington.

“Hopefully here in the next two to three years, we will have service here in the Shreveport-Bossier market from what we’ve been told,” Washington said.

Washington, who is the Shreveport Amtrak point person, said the next step in the process is a full condition assessment which will determine the amount of funding needed to bring the new Amtrak stations on line. He says Amtrak officials should be in Shreveport in the next 45 days to work on that.

In spite of setbacks, planning continues

The last couple of months have been challenging for the nation’s passenger rail service.

In March, Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner stepped down, stating he was leaving to ensure Amtrak "continues to enjoy the full faith and confidence of this administration."

Elon Musk, the head of the Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE, has stated that that Amtrak, which is operated as a for-profit company but receives federal funding, should be privatized.

“That is a spectacularly bad idea,” Rail Passengers Association's Jim Matthews told NPR. “The reason that Amtrak was born in 1971 was precisely because private capital could not operate in a way that would deliver returns to shareholders and still serve the public.”

Washington said none of those developments seem to be slowing plans for local passenger rail service and the potential routes available to north Louisiana passengers are growing.

The initial is the eastern, or Interstate 20 route, that will take Shreveport passengers to Ruston and Monroe and on to Meridian, Mississippi and Atlanta before turning north to Washington, D.C., and New York City.

A Shreveport to Baton Rouge and New Orleans route is also in the works, Washington says.

Baton Rouge and Gonzales are using federal grants to build their train stations, but funding and route infrastructure for Baton Rouge to New Orleans continue to be concerns.

Washington confirms that Amtrak is also looking at the possibility of a northern route from Shreveport to Little Rock.

The Shreveport Amtrak station has been approved to be co-located at the SporTran City building at 1253 Texas Avenue.

Because of the proposed increase in routes, Washington says SporTran is getting government funding to purchase another building in the 1200 block of Texas Avenue for crew layovers.

“So they're actually looking at making that a boutique hotel as well as an ops center for them (Amtrak),” Washington said, adding that they are “deep into that acquisition.”

Having strong voices from Monroe, Ruston and Shreveport on one team "has been the absolute turning point in actually making this happen,” he said.

“I think that the most positive thing is that at this point in time, the three main cities that's needed in order to get us to Meridian, Mississippi has the political support to go forward with this project.”