NEW ORLEANS — Press events held today from Mobile, Ala., to New Orleans have filled in more details on the launch of two daily round trips of Amtrak’s Mardi Gras Service, beginning Aug. 18.
The start date and other details were announced this morning [see “Amtrak to launch …,” Trains News Wire, July 1, 2025].
Today’s gatherings occurred at Mobile’s Government Plaza; stations once served by Amtrak’s Sunset Limited at Pascagoula, Biloxi, Gulfport, and Bay St. Louis in Mississippi; and New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal, where events concluded in time for early evening newscast live shots of equipment and interviews.
As a continuation of those promotional efforts, Amtrak and the Southern Rail Commission will stage a ceremonial inaugural run from the Crescent City to Mobile and return on Saturday, Aug. 16, ahead of the start of regular service. It reprises the New Orleans-Jacksonville “inspection train” of Feb. 18, 2016, that kicked off efforts to establish daily Gulf Coast passenger trains on the route last servied by the triweekly Sunset.
With booking now possible on the Amtrak website, News Wire examined published schedules and fares actually quoted.
Schedule
New Orleans-Mobile timings are about 20 minutes longer than what Amtrak proposed in 2022. This is in part because this schedule is a collaborative effort between the passenger carrier, CSX, and Norfolk Southern, and few of infrastructure improvements agreed to (and receiving federal funding) to improve capacity have been completed. It’s easy to see why the Sunset was irrelevant here, especially because in the transcontinental train’s later years, hours-long delays essentially made the published schedule fictional.
Both round trips are scheduled to pass west of Bay St. Louis, where there is a long single-track bridge just east of town. Although Amtrak doesn’t currently publish printed timetables, the SRC will likely fill the void as part of a comprehensive promotional campaign throughout the Gulf Coast.
Pricing
While the press release touts coach fares as low as $15, it appears “value” pricing initially is being offered in lower Monday-Thursday and higher Friday-Sunday ranges as shown. Similarly, fares between stops is comparable to what is charged from New Orleans to Bay St. Louis. When revenue service begins, two Amfleet coaches and an Amfleet cafe/business class car will be assigned. The business class section of these cars has two-and-one seating, but there are a maximum of only 15 to 18 leg rest-equipped seats. A small number of pets are allowed for a $39 fee, but at present there is no listed provision for carrying bicycles or checked baggage.
Operations
It is expected that subject to availability, a non-powered control unit will facilitate push-pull operation at both New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal and the Mobile pocket track. The company has recently embarked on a program to convert P42 locomotives for this purpose [see “News photo: Amtrak now using …,” News Wire, June 25, 2025].
Amtrak initiated a first round of conductor and engineer hiring in 2022; qualification runs have been restarted, and a crew base established at Mobile. The company is continuing with an informational safety campaign to familiarize area residents with more frequent and faster train movements as the Mardi Gras launch date approaches.
The SRC’s role
The Southern Rail Commission has been the catalyst for keeping Amtrak, lawmakers, and host railroads focused on getting service started despite operational challenges. The SRC is the Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama compact that began as the Southern Rapid Rail Transit Commission in 1982. Its early ventures were short-lived New Orleans-Mobile Gulf Coast Limited operations offering single round trips in the mid-1980s and mid-1990s; those died when state funding collapsed. Now with two daily departures each way, the SRC is poised to assume hands-on operational oversight and promotion responsibilities.
In a statement, Chairman Knox Ross says, “We know this service will have tremendous impact in boosting our local economies, connecting people with jobs and education opportunities, and bolstering our vibrant tourism industry in the coastal cities along the route, and we encourage everyone to start buying tickets for your upcoming travel.”
Looking back at old Official Railroad Guides, under of L & N it took 3 hours 15 minutes on average on this route to get from Mobile to New Orleans. This schedule with Amtrak is just short of 30 minutes longer between cities. Too long. Need to speed it up to old timetables. I can drive old US 90 along the coast and with all the stoplights (more than 50 of them) and doing the exact speed limit I still can make this drive in 2 1/2 hours.
wonder if the Saturday pre inaugural train will use both train sets to make the train look good for the POLs? Probably would be best if 2 locos are use top and tail to preclude any loco failure. Maybe even a third loco after what happened to the Floridian?
I was at Tech School at Keesler AFB in 1984 and remember the Gulf Coast Limited passing by the base. It was easy to see through the chain-link fence. I believe that it had three or four cars. I never rode it though.