NEW ORLEANS — Amtrak and the Southern Rail Commission on Saturday staged a preview of the long-anticipated Mardi Gras service set to begin Monday (Aug. 18, 2025) using cars, locomotives, and crews that will provide two daily round trips between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala. Here’s a look at how the table was set on Saturday; Trains.com will provide in-depth reporting once service is launched.
The preview train included four Amfleet II 60-seat coaches, and three Amfleet I café-business class cars that will be split into two three-car sets of two coaches and one café-business car for the daily service. Locomotives on each end will facilitate push-pull service between New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal and the pocket track recently completed at Mobile. Additional equipment added for the special was Inspection Car No. 10004, a Viewliner II baggage dorm from the Crescent protect pool, and a Northeast Corridor Amfleet I coach to accommodate almost 300 people who rode for all or part of the trip. Charger ALC42s Nos. 327 and 356 performed flawlessly and the entire consist was spotless, evidence that Amtrak’s New Orleans train wash was indeed operational.
U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) was among dignitaries on the first trip. Wicker was a key behind-the-scenes player who helped facilitate federal grants and promoted the service in the face of corporate and political opposition. Many politicians show up to take credit for events, but Wicker clearly had a pervasive impact on getting the service started.
Wicker issued a statement on Monday celebrating the fact that service had returned “at last” to Mississippi’s Gulf Coast.
“The Mardi Gras Service is one of the final pieces of the recovery puzzle from Hurricane Katrina,” the statement reads. “In the Senate, I spent nearly 10 years securing federal investment, continuing conversations with stakeholders, and pressing Transportation Secretary nominees and federal rail officials about their commitment to Gulf Coast rail. Serving as the lead Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee helped me to advocate effectively for Gulf Coast rail. Reconnecting the Gulf Coast to the nationwide passenger rail network will not only turn a page on Hurricane Katrina, but will expand opportunity in our state for years to come.”
The presentation of the “Amtrak Served Community” sign to Bay Saint Louis Mayor Mike Favre was part of a program developed in 2013 by the late Amtrak president Joe Boardman. It was meant to strengthen ties with cities and towns along the national network. Boardman made presentations like this along routes of the threatened Southwest Chief and Hoosier State.
The stop in Gulfport was particularly moving, given the devastation in the community from Hurricane Katrina, including to the station that once served the Sunset Limited and L&N’s Pan American. The rebuilt station saw hundreds turn out to welcome Amtrak back.
The small concrete platform at Pascagoula, Miss., was built to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements,. It replaced the wooden platform that was a feature of the station before CSX relocated the tracks. Amtrak assistant superintendent Ethan O’Neal tells Trains.com that it’s a special challenge for engineers to avoid overshooting the platform when stopping. “We don’t want them to do anything fancy,” he says, “just make a smooth stop to avoid backing up.” For the service, the company has established a Mobile crew base with a road foreman, seven engineers, and 12 conductors. An additional 10 mechanical personnel were added at New Orleans with the addition of a daytime shift.
While passengers attended a luncheon at the Mobile Convention Center hosted by tourism agency Visit Mobile, the train had to make a 13-mile backup move to the nearest wye at Theodore, Ala. P42 No. 175 helped execute the move.
New Amtrak board member Elaine Clegg, from Boise, Idaho, and Surface Transportation Board member Karen Hedlund made Saturday’s round trip and took part in the civic event at each stop. Hedlund took part in years of hearings over the efforts to launch the service before the board warned host railroads CSX and Norfolk Southern, as well as Amtrak, that an STB decision would be something “no one would like.” Hedlund told to Trains.com that she won’t reveal what the terms were, but the move forced a settlement. Clegg, from a city served until 1997 by the Pioneer, has been a vocal proponent of route expansion.
— Updated Aug. 19 at 9:01 a.m. CT with statement from Sen. Roger Wicker.
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A MARDI-GRAS Service Win — A CARDINAL Service Loss
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A sincere and hearty congratulations to everyone, at all stake-levels, who worked
tirelessly, with determination and dedication, to bring about the return of Amtrak Service along the Gulf Coast.
Sadly, Amtrak’s CARDINAL route had to suffer to help make the new MARDI-GRAS operation a reality. Since the new MARDI-GRASn April, the third Amfleet II coach, that had just been assigned in March to each CARDINAL consist, was suddenly removed from each train set for an unexplained reason. This reverted the CARDINAL back to operation with only two coach cars (116) seats per train. so that those two coaches (one from each CARDINAL train set) could be prepped for their new assignment as two of the four Amfleet II coaches needed for the two new MARDI-GRAS trains
Don’t worry Jeff those cars won’t be here long. Our Gubna MeMaw here in Bama and here far right cronies here in Mobile are laying awake at night dreaming up the fastest way to kill the new train.
ERROR ABOVE — Incomplete posting due to hitting key by mistake — Paragraph should read —
“Sadly, Amtrak’s CARDINAL route had to suffer to help make the new MARDI-GRAS operation a reality. Since it’s now known that each MARDI-GRAS train consist will operate with two Amfleet II coaches and one Amfleet I Cafe/Business Class car, the required number of coaches had to be found from the extremely limited network equipment pool. Since the third Amfleet II coach, that had just been assigned in March, to each CARDINAL consist, was suddenly removed from the two CARDINAL train sets for an unexplained reason, it’s now known that these two coaches were prepped for their new assignment as two of the four Amfleet II coaches needed for the two, new MARDI-GRASS trains.
As a result, the CARDINAL has continued to operate all Spring and Summer with only two Amfleet II coaches (116 seats) and has been SOLD OUT virtually every trip, for weeks in advance.
This again proves that Amtrak management gives overwhelming, preferential favoritism to short-distance, corridor and state-funded routes while ignoring the need for adequate capacity on once-daily or tri-weekly, long-distance routes.
I’m thrilled with the expansion of another route to the Amtrak network, and I’m hopeful the new MARDI-GRAS service beats all ridership projections. I just wish Amtrak management would treat the long-distance trains fairly and with more support.
CHRIS — The train will kill itself if people don’t ride it. We will soon know the ridership counts.
That the train is twice daily is a great decision. A once-daily corridor train would be a waste of the breath it would take to talk about it.
CHARLES—Just so you know, there were no government representatives from either Mobile nor Alabama on the inaugural train. The mayor did surprisingly make an appearance at the station platform which is definitely more than I expected.
I know you hate to hear it but it’s the trumpubicans here in Bama that delayed this train. Every other community along the Gulf Coast has been ready for well over a year. Mobile and CSX pulled out all the stops to undermine the progress. City commissioners went so far as to drag their feet on the station platform permits. Recent delays by CSX resulted in the platform not being ready until a week after school summer vacation ended taking away the chance for local families to make summer weekday train trips. Mobile and Alabama have every intention of killing the Mardi Gras train ASAP. Our far right wing maga nut government only wanted the millions for the track improvements from the fed.
Take a drive down the interstate 10 in either direction between Mobile and New Orleans. Then you tell me if you think this train might be necessary. But the hard fact is it won’t matter if the train sells out every day. Our gubna MeMaw, a true trumper, stated that passenger trains are a “old timey” way to travel and declared our state would not support it. Her lackeys in Mobile followed MeMaws lead and have done everything in their power to hamstring the new service. So I’m gonna ride it while I can because it ain’t gonna last regardless of ridership counts.
Chris — When did I say I opposed this train?
If you actually read my post, you would notice that I support it.
I’m a Republican who on these pages has CONSISTENTLY supported tax-subsidized public transportation, with the exception of CalHSR.
Charles I never said you opposed this train and I appreciate that you support public transportation. What I said is that trumpublicans here in Alabama oppose it. My point is that the ridership counts you mentioned might kill the train won’t matter. The political climate here in Bama will.
Two locomotives each on a three-car train? Has to be one of the least fuel-efficient modes of transportation out there. Amtrak needs to invest in smaller locomotives and cab-control units for shorter consists.
Looks like dirt and looks like wastage. Every time I see a Hiawatha or a Borealis, I have to wonder what the masses of people think about the Amtrak subsidy.
How wonderful! The festive beginning of a great rail adventure… Already bringing the Gulf Coast together…
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
My grandson and I followed the northbound train from Ocean Springs, MS back to Mobile. Glad the train is finally running as I honestly didn’t think it would ever happen. Now let’s see how long it’ll take the city of Mobile and the state of Alabama try and kill it.
At last, at last. Thanks to all who participated in the lengthy process it’s taken to finally return service to a large part of the Gulf of Mexico coastline. Special thanks to the STB and the Southern Rail Commission. Now, let’s work on the Crescent extension from Meridian, Ms., to Dallas, Texas. The I-20 corridor has become a nightmare of dangerous traffic. The benefits of Dallas to Atlanta are too many to list. Keep up the difficult task SRC and STB to get this service moving in fast-forward.