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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