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8/18/2025
An Amtrak train carrying passengers bound for New Orleans officially left a train station in Mobile, Alabama, early this morning, marking the first time in 20 years that the railroad has served that area of the Gulf Coast.
Local events featuring music and other festivities were held Aug. 16 in Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula, Mississippi, as part of an inaugural run between New Orleans and Mobile to celebrate Amtrak's new Mardi Gras Service. The new twice daily service offers morning and evening departures from both Mobile and New Orleans.
The Mardi Gras route is the first time Amtrak has been able to transport passengers along the Gulf Coast since Hurricane Katrina devastated the region in 2005. Last month, Amtrak started accepting bookings for the service.
"This is a really big deal. It took years of patient advocacy — by Rail Passengers [Association], our allies and countless local constituents — to make it happen," Rail Passengers Association President and CEO Jim Mathews said Aug. 15 in an email to RPA members. The first week of service on the route was sold out even before the service launch date, he noted.
Earlier this month, Amtrak and Flix North America, the parent company of Greyhound, announced a new bus service connecting Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with New Orleans to give riders access to the Mardi Gras route.