CONO adding Marks, MS stop

[saxman]

Looks like Amtrak will add a flag stop in Marks, Mississippi next spring. It's about halfway between Memphis and Greenwood on the City of New Orleans route.

http://msbusiness.com/2015/09/the-city-is-coming-to-marks-amtrack-service-will-stop-in-delta-town-as-early-as-spring-2016/

 

[Bob Dylan]

Interesting, thanks for posting Chris!

The article says that they expect to have a coverrd shelter of some kind ready in 2016. Wonder what kind of Platforms they have?

Hope, Arkansas had to rebuild theirs cause they weren't in compliance with today's standards.

Wonder if Marks got a waiver? I know its one of the poorest areas of the nation and doesn't have any money.

 

[fairviewroad]

Seems like a logical move in a lot of ways. It's 126 miles between Memphis and Greenwood, which is the longest gap between stations on the CONO route. Furthermore, under its current schedule, the stop will occur at a relatively reasonable time of day (roughly 8 a.m. southbound and roughly 9 p.m. northbound).

That said, I think they'll be sorely disappointed if they're relying on inbound tourism to make this stop successful. From a logistical standpoint, what exactly are "Blues Trail" tourists going to do once they disembark in little ol' Marks? Walk over to the Hertz counter? Not exactly. Admittedly, I've never been to Marks but the Google Streetview images suggest a town that's neither quaint nor bustling. So they'll have to figure that part out.

But in the sense that it will serve area residents who wish to travel to Chicago, New Orleans, etc, it seems like a good option.

 

[WestBerkeleyFlats]

Seems like a logical move in a lot of ways. It's 126 miles between Memphis and Greenwood, which is the longest gap between stations on the CONO route. Furthermore, under its current schedule, the stop will occur at a relatively reasonable time of day (roughly 8 a.m. southbound and roughly 9 p.m. northbound).

That said, I think they'll be sorely disappointed if they're relying on inbound tourism to make this stop successful. From a logistical standpoint, what exactly are "Blues Trail" tourists going to do once they disembark in little ol' Marks? Walk over to the Hertz counter? Not exactly. Admittedly, I've never been to Marks but the Google Streetview images suggest a town that's neither quaint nor bustling. So they'll have to figure that part out.

But in the sense that it will serve area residents who wish to travel to Chicago, New Orleans, etc, it seems like a good option.

Next they should try to get some kind of regional bus shuttle between the stop and Oxford and Ole Miss.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Maybe all the Blues Guitar Players will ride the CONO, hop off in Marks, and trade their soul to the Devil for "Fingers of Gold"like Robert Johnson did. ( Allegedly)