MOBILE, Ala. — Amtrak’s Mardi Gras Service between Mobile and New Orleans will launch on Aug. 18, ending the lengthy effort to restore passenger operations on a route that last saw an Amtrak train in 2005.
Tickets were placed on sale this morning; adult coach fares will be as low as $15 for full-route service, Amtrak says. The two daily round trips will include business class and café service with a menu featuring locally sourced items. Trains are scheduled to depart Mobile at 6:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.; trains from New Orleans will depart at 7:35 a.m. and 5:31 p.m. Intermediate stops will be in the Mississippi cities of Pascagoula, Biloxi, Gulfport, and Bay St. Louis.
The launch of regular service will be preceded by an inaugural train on Aug. 16, with Amtrak extending invitations to public officials and others in thanks for their work to bring back passenger service.
“We encourage customers to get their tickets now to experience this new, comfortable, and scenic service, and have the first opportunity to travel by train on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in nearly 20 years,” Amtrak President Roger Harris said in a press release.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to welcome Amtrak back to Mobile,” said Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson, one of the speakers at an 8 a.m. press conference in Mobile announcing the launch date, schedule, and fares. Similar events were scheduled for throughout the day at cities to be served by the trains, concluding with a 3 p.m. event in New Orleans where equipment was to be displayed to media and public officials. “With tickets now on sale, this long-awaited service feels closer than ever.”
The effort to resume service along the Gulf Coast to at least 2016, when an Amtrak inspection train traveled the route. The following year, the Southern Rail Commission and Federal Railroad Administration collaborated on a report identifying infrastructure needs to accommodate the two daily round trips. With negotiations stalled, Amtrak went to the Surface Transportation Board in 2021 in an effort to compel host railroads CSX and Norfolk Southern to permit the service [see “Amtrak asks STB to require …,” Trains News Wire, March 16, 2021].
After a lengthy series of STB hearings in STB, but before the board could rule on the case, Amtrak and the freight railroads reached an agreement in November to allow the trains to operate [See “Amtrak, freight railroads say they have a deal …,” News Wire, Nov. 22, 2022.] Newly arrived CSX CEO Joe Hinrichs was said to play a key role in reaching the agreement.
“This new Gulf Coast passenger service wouldn’t be possible without the leadership of federal, state, and local partners,” Hinrichs said in today’s press release. “The collective effort reflects our ongoing focus on strengthening the communities that are part of our rail network and our workforce.”
Not long after that agreement was reach, Amtrak projected service would begin in 2023. But delays in completing a funding agreement with Mobile — which was forced to step in when Alabama declined to join Mississippi and Louisiana in providing financial report — pushed back the start date. In part, the service faced opposition over concerns it would interfere with operations at the Port of Mobile. A deal was finally struck in August 2024 [see “Mobile, Ala., council votes to approve …,” News Wire, Aug. 6, 2024]. Further delays involved work in Mobile to build a station platform and pocket track for train storage, leading to the start date announced today.
“The Southern Rail Commission is incredibly proud and excited that the Amtrak Mardi Gras Service is starting so soon after decades of work by all our partners who have played indispensable roles in today’s announcement,” SRC Chairman Knox Ross said. “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.”
Along with the start date, Amtrak announced a “3-3-3” promotion for Amtrak Guest Rewards members to help launch the service. Those making three trips in the three-month promotional period through Nov. 18 will, after the third trip, retroactively receive triple points for all three trips and any others during the qualifying period.
— Trains passenger correspondent offers additional information on the start of Mardi Gras service in this article. Arrival times reported in the original version of this article were incorrect. Full schedule information is included in the followup article.
It was criminal how the Sunset Limited’s route between Florida a nd New Orleans (and through to Los Angeles) was not routinely restored after the tracks were repaired following Hurricane Katrina. There were no hearings on discontinuing the service.
If I remember correctly, it was Amtrak’s biggest financial loser by far at the time. This financial lost was significantly reduced by terminating it in New Orleans. The hurricane gave Amtrak an excuse to do so without any significant political push back.
Extending the Sunset to Florida had great potential. I rode it from Los Angeles to Sebring, FL 3 weeks after the service was extended. Walking through the coaches east of El Paso, over 60% of the passengers were beyond New Orleans.
A continuing curse of SP’s reducing service to three days a week prior Amtrak taking over.
Where will the equipment come from. Lord I hope it’s not Superliners.
When the special train ran in 2016, wasn’t the plan to extend the City of New Orleans to Orlando? What happened to that plan. Probably don’t have the equipment to pull that off. Sad
I believe it was either Harris or Magliari that confirmed the service will be using Amfleets initially! But agreed. The withdrawal of the Horizon fleet has forced Amtrak to take even more Superliners from long distance routes at a time when they need more of them! Using more Superliners to support state sponsored routes has resulted in more long haul trains having to sacrifice a car. Both the Sunset Limited and Coast Starlight have lost a coach since the start of summer travel season!