Amtrak begins new service between New Orleans, Mobile
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
For the first time since Hurricane Katrina, an Amtrak conductor in New Orleans shouted "all aboard!" as passengers loaded up a Mobile-bound train on Saturday.
Why it matters: The Mardi Gras line links New Orleans with four other Gulf Coast towns between it and Alabama, a move that city and state officials will boost tourism and business opportunities along that stretch while, they hope, proving regional rail can thrive in the Deep South.
State of play: Tickets for the train's first day of return to public service on Monday sold out, a spokesman says, and Saints game days already appear popular for future dates.
- A key for Amtrak growth means having more of a presence beyond the Northeast," company president Roger Harris tells Axios New Orleans. Amtrak expects to release its 2024 fiscal reports soon, which Harris says will show record ridership.
- "One of the missions we're on is to make sure rail transportation is available in a convenient way to greater parts of the country," he says.
- Amtrak hopes the Mardi Gras line's return jumpstarts that, especially with the service's existing routes that already connect New Orleans to places like Chicago and Houston.
- "Transportation is a network function," Harris says. "That is important: getting that critical mass together in any one area is that self-reinforcing activity."
Zoom in: Saturday's inaugural ride was filled with about 300 Amtrak guests, including local and state politicians, tourism boosters and New Orleans Mardi Gras royalty.
- They boarded in time for an 8am send-off complete with a brass band led second-line and showers of purple, green and gold confetti.
- The train made each of what'll be its usual stops in in Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi, Pascagoula, though this time with marching bands and waving crowds at each before a final lunchtime bash in Mobile.
The vibe: As the view outside fell away from the New Orleans suburbs, the train on Saturday chugged under and over bridges and through stretches of marshland, beachfront, open water and, eventually, forested thickets before landing at the edge of Mobile's port.
- It's a stunning ride that far outpaces the view from I-10 without any of its traffic. Plus, it has snacks, WiFi and plenty of legroom. (The quarter muffuletta was an especially pleasant surprise, with a tangy olive salad and soft, sesame seed-studded breaded.)
- The line itself is still undergoing some key improvements, a spokesman says, which for now require a few slowdowns below its top speed of 79 mph. That means service along the route will only get faster.
How it works: Tickets start at $15, with discounts available for seniors, groups, kids, veterans and military personnel.
- Departures are planned from each stop twice daily.
What's next: Local leaders and Amtrak officials hope the long-promised train route between New Orleans and Baton Rouge soon becomes a reality that leads to a rail expansion between metro areas across the state.
- The needed replacement of a trestle bridge over the Bonnet Carre spillway remains a sticking point, Harris says.
- "We need to use this as a launching pad to get the rail to Baton Rouge and to Shreveport and across North Louisiana," Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser said Saturday. "We've got an incredible opportunity. ... If we can't get it done with (House Majority Leader) Steve Scalise and (Speaker of the House) Mike Johnson, it'll never get done."