Amtrak Mardi Gras Service — The Train Returns

Twenty years is how long the Mississippi Gulf Coast waited for a passenger train to return. Hurricane Katrina destroyed major bridges and damaged 110 miles of track in August 2005. Freight rail came back five months later. Passengers did not. The Mardi Gras Service began August 18, 2025 — two daily round trips between New Orleans and Mobile, 145 miles hugging the Gulf, with stops at Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi, and Pascagoula. Tickets on the inaugural trains sold out within a day. The service drew 46,000 riders in its first months and earned the highest customer satisfaction rating of any Amtrak route in the country. By April 2026, ridership exceeded 100,000. The route follows the same corridor Amtrak operated until 1997 and again until Katrina. The Rail Passengers Association began lobbying for its return in 2010. The Federal Railroad Administration awarded $33 million in 2019. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in 2021. Another $21.1 million came in January 2025 to cover operating costs. A special inaugural trip ran August 16, 2025. Mardi Gras parades were held at stations on the route. Bay St. Louis is the first stop — 90 minutes from New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal. The train returned because people wanted it back, then fought for it, then paid for it. The coast is reachable by rail again. Book early. It sells out.