USA: Amtrak is to launch a twice-daily Mardi Gras Service passenger train linking New Orleans with Mobile via the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Amtrak will operate the 235 km route under contracts with the states of Louisiana and Mississippi, and with the financial support of the city of Mobile and the backing of the Southern Rail Commission which promotes rail in the southeastern USA.
There will be morning and evening departures, with Bay Saint Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula having same-day connections in both directions with the City of New Orleans service between New Orleans and Chicago. There will be next-day connections in New Orleans with the Crescent to and from New York and Sunset Limited to and from Los Angeles.
The launch date, timetable and fares are still be confirmed.
Mardi Gras Service is ‘a natural choice for the name of the new trains that will reflect the region’s distinctive culture’, Amtrak President Roger Harris said on April 24. ‘Travel should be about more than just getting somewhere. Our goal is to have some of that festive Mardi Gras feeling on every trip, sharing the culture of the Gulf Coast region while connecting with the rest of the Amtrak network.’
The Sunset Limited from Los Angeles to Orlando was cut back to New Orleans after CSX infrastructure was damaged by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Various studies looked at reinstating services through to Florida, but a lack of agreement saw the plans scaled back to the New Orleans – Mobile section of the former route.
