Mayor says railroad opposes site for new Amtrak station

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - An Alabama mayor says a railroad is opposing a proposed site for a new Amtrak station, citing safety concerns.

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox tells The Tuscaloosa News that negotiations with Norfolk Southern Railway have broken down.

The city has $1.8 million earmarked for a new station for Amtrak’s Crescent, which has daily trains going south to New Orleans and north to New York.

Tuscaloosa was eyeing a location at a demolished shopping center.

Maddox says Norfolk Southern cited hard-to-fix concerns about sight distance.

The mayor says he’ll now ask the Southern Rail Commission for permission to divert a $315,000 grant to improvements at the current station.

Maddox says he fears Tuscaloosa will lose its stop without a new station.

The railroad didn’t respond Friday to a request for comment.

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Information from: The Tuscaloosa News, http://www.tuscaloosanews.com