Latest news with #AmtrakMardiGrasService
USA Today
02-07-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Amtrak announces Mardi Gras Service passenger rail just in time for football season
Twice-a-day train service will run from New Orleans to Mobile, Ala. with four stops in Mississippi This could be interesting. If you're a New Orleans Saints fan living in the Gulf South, a new way to get to games this season just opened up to you with this week's Amtrak Mardi Gras Service announcement. Twice-a-day passenger trains will travel between Louisiana and Alabama with four stops in Mississippi beginning Monday, Aug. 18, just in time for football season, but the day after the Saints' preseason home game with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The move revives service that ran for decades before Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans mayor LaToya Cantrell commented on the news through an Amtrak press release: "Today is only possible thanks to the dedication of stakeholders all across the Gulf Coast who have been tirelessly committed to restoring passenger rail service to our communities for 20 years. Amtrak Mardi Gras Service reconnects New Orleans to its Gulf Coast neighbors in Mississippi and Alabama, bringing benefits to our residents, businesses, and visitors and furthering anchoring New Orleans as the premier passenger rail hub in the South. "Amtrak's return to the Gulf Coast has been a long time coming and we're excited to see passenger rail returning to the Gulf Coast and will continue to be a strong advocate for existing and future Amtrak service in New Orleans." Amtrak announced that adult coach fares running end-to-end start at $15 each way with discounts for children, students, seniors, veterans, and other groups. Westbound trains from Mobile, Ala. are scheduled to depart at 6:30 a.m. CT and arrive in New Orleans' Union Passenger Terminal at 10:30 a.m. CT. From there it's a 15-minute walk to Champions Square and the Caesars Superdome. So that would be right on time for a noon kickoff, with eastbound trains scheduled to depart from New Orleans in the evenings at 5:31 p.m. CT before reaching Mobile, Ala. at 9:14 p.m. CT. That works well for noon games, but the late-afternoon slot and prime-time matchups might be tricky and require an overnight stay. In the evenings, westbound trains are set to leave Mobile at 4:30 p.m. CT and arrive in New Orleans at 8:13 p.m. CT. The eastbound morning train from New Orleans departs at 7:35 a.m. and reaches Mobile at 11:18 a.m. CT, barring unforeseen delays, of course. If you're curious about which of those Saints home games could fit the bill for an early arrival and afternoon departure, here they are: What about fans visiting from further out? New Orleans already welcomes trains at the Union Passenger Terminal from Chicago (the Amtrak City of New Orleans line), New York (Crescent), and Los Angeles (Sunset Limited) with stops in other major metros (and NFL cities) like Atlanta and Houston along the way, so this could become a popular option for those who don't want to fly or drive cross-country. If you'd rather take the train one way and fly another, hourly bus service runs from Union Passenger Terminal to Louis Armstrong International Airport, too. More options are good for everyone. We'll see you onboard.
American Press
02-07-2025
- Business
- American Press
Gulf Coast Amtrak route to start on Aug. 18, cost $15 per trip
Map shows Amtrak route from Mobile to New Orleans. (Photo courtesy of the Southern Rail Commission) By Steve Wilson | The Center Square Amtrak announced on Tuesday it will start new, twice-daily service connecting Mobile, Ala., with New Orleans on Aug. 18 and cost $15 per ticket, one way. The Amtrak Mardi Gras Service will offer four trips daily with stops in Pascagoula, Biloxi, Gulfport and Bay Saint Louis in Mississippi. Knox Ross is the chairman of the Southern Rail Commission, which played a key role in helping to bring the service back, coincidentally, on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landfall. Amtrak service on the Gulf Coast ceased after Katrina in 2005 amid declining ridership and damage to track infrastructure. He told The Center Square that the commission isn't concerned about the possibility of the three entities – the states of Louisiana and Mississippi and the city of Mobile – possibly pulling their funding and whether that would mark the end of the service as it did 20 years before. 'There's a lot of different ways you can go past that, but I mean, we're not concentrating on that right now,' Ross said. 'We're concentrating on making a successful service that everybody's going to want to participate in going forward.' He also said that profitability isn't a concern for the service. 'There's no contrivance that carries people that is profitable, airlines, if you include it in all air traffic controllers, TSA, all of the FAA money goes into it's not really,' the former Pelahatchie, Miss., mayor said. 'What you have to look at any transportation venue is it valued, what is bringing to you? It's like a highway. What's that bringing to you? So it is bringing people that wouldn't come here and will also bring people who will leave here because they can easily get around. That's how you have to look at it.' According to a news release by Amtrak, adult coach fares will start at $15 for a one-way ticket, with costs lower for shorter distances and higher for coach class and for peak times. Discounts will be offered for children up to age 12, students, seniors, veterans and military personnel. According to Amtrak, the trains will offer coach and business class and cafe service with menus featuring locally-sourced items. The rail carrier also said the trains will have reclining seats with ample legroom, no middle seats, free Wi-Fi, and generous carry-on baggage allowances, with golf bags and pets in carriers accepted. Newly sworn-in Gulfport Mayor Hugh Keating said the trains will bring new visitors to downtown, helping restaurants, the Mississippi Aquarium and TrainTastic, the city's model train museum that is one of the nation's largest. 'I remember riding the rails to New Orleans several times in the early years and just prior to Katrina and what a great, beautiful ride and experience that is,' Keating said. 'Walking down on this historic brick road into downtown Gulfport and looking and saying, 'wow, this is cool. There's a lot going on here' and there's going to be much more going on.' Service was supposed to start in spring, but delays derailed the effort. Whether the service, which requires subsidies from the city of Mobile, Mississippi and Louisiana to continue, will be self-sustaining is unknown. According to Amtrak's five-year plan from 2021, it predicts the Mardi Gras Service will lose $8.2 million in its first year with ridership of 24,300 annually. At $15 per ticket, ridership numbers that low would generate only $364,500 in annual revenue. According to the Amtrak 2015 feasibility study for restoration of Gulf Coast rail service, total trips declined 45.2% from 148,387 in fiscal 1993 to 81,348 in 2005. The study blamed reliability issues and delays with the trains, plus the loss of taxpayer funding from the three states. Mississippi has already committed about $15 million in state taxpayer money to the project, with Louisiana adding $10 million and $3 million coming from the city of Mobile. A federal $178 million Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Program grant announced in 2022 is already helping to improve trackage and other infrastructure needed to restore service to the coast.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Yahoo
Amtrak unveils name for new rail service from New Orleans to Mobile
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Amtrak has announced the name of its new rail service, which is set to bring passengers to and from New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama. On Thursday, Amtrak officials announced that the service, also making stops in Coastal Mississippi, will be called Amtrak Mardi Gras Service. City of New Orleans announces Jazz Fest safety measures, traffic reminders According to Amtrak, the rail service between New Orleans and Mobile will stop in Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi; Gulfport, Mississippi; Biloxi, Mississippi; and Pascagoula, Mississippi. 'With the launch of the Amtrak Mardi Gras Service, we are not just restoring a transportation link; we are celebrating the vibrant culture and community spirit of the Gulf Coast,' said Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Secretary Joe Donahue in a news release. Southeast Louisiana law enforcement agencies to participate in Drug Take Back Day The news release states that daily morning and evening departures in both directions will be available when the service starts, which is expected to be during the summer. Amtrak officials said the trains are set to include reclining seats and carry-on bag options. Additional accommodations for golf bags and pets are also set to be unveils name for new rail service from New Orleans to Mobile Judge blocks Trump efforts to eliminate DEI in public schools The NFL's most powerful piece of paper — the Draft Card Utah immigration lawyer, who is a naturalized US citizen, ordered to self-deport These US cities have the 'most polluted' air in the country, says new study Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Amtrak unveils ‘Mardi Gras' service for Mobile-New Orleans route
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — Amtrak has announced a new name for its twice-daily railroad service between Mobile and New Orleans, has learned. President Trump announces he's agreed to commencement address at University of Alabama According to an Amtrak news release, the new route will be called the Amtrak Mardi Gras Service, highlighting both cities' long history with the famed celebration. 'Amtrak 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. '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 service will have morning and evening trains at both cities, with stops at Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula, the release said. From New Orleans, travelers can connect with trains to Chicago via Memphis, New York via Atlanta, and Los Angeles via Tucson, San Antonio and Houston, the release said. Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson said the train service will boost the local economy and enhance the city. 'Mobile and New Orleans have always shared a rich cultural heritage, and renewing Amtrak service will strengthen our ties to the Crescent City and the Mississippi Gulf Coast,' he said. 'We are so excited to welcome new visitors from those communities when the Amtrak Mardi Gras Service launches later this year. It will be an asset to our citizens and another enhancement to Mobile's growing downtown waterfront.' According to the release, the new trains will feature wide reclining seats, ample legroom, no middle seats, and space for carry-on luggage. When scheduled in advance, golf bags or small pets in carriers will be allowed. Pensacola Beach Sailfish sign now reads 'Gulf of America' The service start date will be announced in a few weeks, and at that time, fares and schedules will be available on the Amtrak website, the release said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
