Amtrak's possible return to the Gulf Coast isn't the only wish-list item for passenger rail in Alabama. Huntsville wants to hop aboard as well.

The Rocket City's interest in passenger rail comes at a time when discussion about restoring Amtrak's Gulf Breeze line between Birmingham and Mobile is steaming ahead.

"They don't want to be left out of the conversation," said Greg White, an Andalusia accountant who chairs the 21-member Southern Rail Commission that was formed by Congress in 1982 to advocate for passenger rail service and pursue grants and other funding to support its mission.

Huntsville's foray into passenger rail would piggyback off a 2013 study into restoring Amtrak service from Birmingham to Montgomery. A similar study to restore passenger rail from Montgomery to Mobile could be under way next month.

Meanwhile, the Southern Rail Commission and other passenger rail backers identify restoration of a Gulf Coast line from New Orleans into Florida as a top priority. Cost estimates are due later this year.

Huntsville's 'conversations'

Huntsville City Administrator John Hamilton attended the SRC's recent meeting in Anniston and, according to White, expressed hopes for looping north Alabama into the Amtrak talks.

White described Huntsville's inquiry about a Birmingham connection as an "early conversation." One key obstacle is that there's no direct freight line between the cities.

"If you include Huntsville, it would be challenging without building a new railroad," said Marc Magliari, spokesman with Amtrak.

The interest in restoring defunct Amtrak routes throughout Alabama - and entertaining new routes, such as a links to Huntsville or north into Tennessee - comes after Republicans, during July's National Convention in Cleveland, opposed subsidized passenger rail while pushing for more privatized service.

And a year ago, Huntsville's own congressional representative, Mo Brooks, urged House members to "wean Amtrak" from the "taxpayer's nipple."

Huntsville city spokeswoman Kelly Schrimsher said the city believes that it merits being considered in any examination of reviving a north-south Amtrak route in Alabama.

Without construction of new rail tracks, any Amtrak run between Birmingham and Huntsville would be possible only on a Norfolk Southern line that carries freight to Birmingham via a CSX line that connects into Decatur.

Schrimsher said that Huntsville's "big picture" comprehensive planning process involved several discussions about adding, expanding or improving passenger rail throughout and beyond the state. "We have noted that there is significant public interest in pursuing this track," Schrimsher said.

She added: "The city of Huntsville has heard about a movement to have rail access from Mobile to Nashville. This is of great interest to our city and (we) would certainly want to be part of that route."

Nashville officials, though, are unaware of any Amtrak aspirations for their city. Nashville is the third-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. without Amtrak service. The last time an Amtrak train provided service to Nashville was 1979.

"It's not something we're looking at now," said Sean Braisted, press secretary to Nashville Mayor Megan Barry. "We're primarily working on local and regional transit systems."

The possibility of an Alabama-Tennessee connection surfaced in 2009, on a futuristic "Alabama Rail Map" presented in a report by an Amtrak official. That map showed a potential routes extending from Birmingham north toward Cullman, Decatur and Athens before heading to Nashville.

In an National Public Radio story last month, Tennessee state officials admitted to looking into restoring services west to Memphis, but did not mention a north-south route.

Costs are the biggest impediment. A 2011 estimate for a route between Memphis and Nashville, according to a Tennessee state transportation official, was $1.8 billion. That amount doesn't include any potential operating deficit.

Coastal 'anxiety'

The Gulf Coast might be in for its own sticker shock when Amtrak costs are unveiled soon.

A 2013 report showed that a Birmingham-to-Montgomery leg would require capital expenses ranging from $121.8 million to $2.5 billion, depending on the type of service provided. Four alternative projects were analyzed in a broader study of reviving the Gulf Breeze line, which operated from 1989-1995.

Robert Smith, director of planning for Montgomery, said city representatives would not pursue state or federal funding for the Birmingham route until the Mobile connection study is complete. Smith said that study of the Mobile link is expected to begin in October, and that it could last six to eight months.

Smith said Montgomery is waiting on approval from the Federal Railroad Administration to give notice to the state's rail consultants, HDR Inc., to proceed.

Meanwhile, a federally formed working group is proceeding to complete its work before the end of the year. That deadline is important: Congress is waiting on a final analysis of revitalizing passenger rail from New Orleans to Orlando, and had anticipated a completed project by early September.

A preliminary report, instead, was forwarded to U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., on Sept. 2, following months of meetings and information-gathering about the current physical condition of the rail line and train stations along the coast. The final report will include results from a CSX simulation model, which will show precise locations for track improvements. Also, Amtrak will submit a uniform checklist for an assessment of 12 coastal train stations.

Wicker said the preliminary report "is not a substitute" for the full report, "which will allow us to have a complete assessment of this project's requirements, cost and challenges."

Said Wicker: "I am hopeful we will have this report by the end of the calendar year. Our goal remains the same - to bring safe, on-time passenger service back to the Gulf Coast in a way that is beneficial to the region and cost effective to taxpayers."

Wally Blankenship, president and CEO of Coastal Alabama Partnership - and a member of the working group - said he awaits the final numbers for rejuvenating passenger rail.

The Amtrak service would take place on an existing CSX line that was heavily damaged by Katrina. CSX spent $440 million on upgrades following the hurricane, but it's unclear how much more investment is needed to allow passenger rail cars to operate regularly.

"That is the big question and somewhat the anxiety in having to wait," said Blankenship. "We need to know what the numbers are before doing anything. Everyone is kind of on the edge of their seat, waiting."