Regional trains could return

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Mayors and other officials from Florida to Louisiana will be in Alabama this week to discuss restoring passenger train service in the region.

The service from Jacksonville, Fla., to New Orleans was at one time part of Amtrak's Sunset Limited line from Los Angeles to Jacksonville. It was discontinued after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The storm and the massive flooding it caused destroyed lives and damaged homes, businesses and railroad tracks.

Officials believe reviving the train service would be a boost to tourism and would help communities across the Gulf Coast still recovering from Katrina.

Sam Jones, the mayor of Mobile, Ala., says restoring the New Orleans-to-Jacksonville line will give Gulf Coast residents a transportation option that hasn't existed in seven years.