For the first time ever Meridian has been chosen out of 20 nominees to host the 2023 Fall Rail Passenger Association Conference that will take place later this year. We spoke with the Executive Director of the Meridian Railroad Museum to learn what this means for The City of
Meridian.
"The Passenger Rail Association is a group of people nationwide that advocate for passenger rail transit, whether it be public transit or even private entities. But they are advocating for more and better systems that get people from one place to the next via train," explained Lucy Dormont, Executive Director of the Museum.
Meridian was up against major cities like Texas, North Carolina, and New York, and Meridian was ultimately chosen to host the conference.
"We were really surprised to be chosen out of all the bigger cities that already have some passenger rail transit in place. And I think that it really just goes to show that it's something that's missing here," said Dormont.
Dormont says they were nominated by Jerome Trahan through the Mississippi Council because of the growth and development of downtown and says this is going to help Meridian tell its story.
"This is a good indicator that we're doing a good job of telling that story. It's going to bring people to our city to spend their money downtown, eat out in our restaurants, shop in our stores, and want to come back to visit Meridian once again," she said.
Dormont says that the Meridian Railroad Museum is working to expand with a Passenger Excursion that will go in and out of the city.
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