The north and southbound trains that run the Crescent line between Atlanta and New Orleans will be affected by routine maintenance on the tracks starting next week.
Thomas L. “Todd” Stennis III, director of Government Affairs-South for Amtrak, said that the maintenance is performed annually, typically between the time frames of the Sugar Bowl and Mardi Gras to avoid interrupting major travel plans between New Orleans and Atlanta. Picayune has a stop between those two points.
The track work will be performed by Norfolk Southern from Jan. 8 to Feb. 23 every Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, according to a release from Amtrak. During those days, southbound train 19 stops at Atlanta. From there passengers will be provided bus services from Atlanta to Anniston, Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Meridian, Laurel, Hattiesburg, Picayune, Slidell and New Orleans. The northbound train, train 20, will also be affected by the work. Passengers wishing to use Amtrak services on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday will be provided bus services between the stations of New Orleans, Slidell, Picayune, Hattiesburg, Laurel, Meridian, Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Anniston and Atlanta. The train will operate north from the station in Atlanta. Both trains will run their normal routes on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.