Once again, there’s more good news in the world of train travel! The Mardi Gras Service is doing well, and I think its success says something bigger about passenger rail in the United States—not just along the Gulf Coast.
Next week, I will cover how to break up a trip along a route. Stay tuned!
The Mardi Gras Service Turns One — And Riders Showed Up
It has officially been one year since Amtrak passenger trains resumed service on the Gulf Coast between New Orleans and Mobile.
In its first year, Amtrak’s Mardi Gras Service carried about 150,000 customer trips, more than 100,000 of which occurred in 2026. The route has exceeded expectations for ridership and revenue.
I took this train twice this year, so I’m included in that count—and my niece rode with me on one of those trips!
The service restored passenger rail service to the Mississippi Gulf Coast after nearly 20 years. Two daily round trips connect New Orleans and Mobile, with stops in Bay Saint Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi, and Pascagoula.
The Mardi Gras in January 2026 is loading passengers before departing from New Orleans.
The Strong Ridership Isn’t New
The Mardi Gras Service saw strong demand almost immediately.
After just 108 days, more than 46,000 customer trips had been recorded on the route. At the time, Amtrak said the service was on track to double its initial ridership estimate.
Amtrak also reported that 96% of surveyed customers were extremely satisfied, and more than 86% of riders arrived on time. Demand has been strong enough that Amtrak has added cars to some trains to accommodate heavier ridership.
By the six-month mark, the Mardi Gras Service had already exceeded its original full-year ridership projection.
Why I Think This Matters
New Orleans and Mobile may be the endpoints, but I don’t think we should overlook what this service means for the communities along the way.
Bay Saint Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi, and Pascagoula once again have regular Amtrak passenger service. That provides residents with another transportation option and makes these communities easier for visitors to reach.
As someone who discovered how neat Mobile, Alabama, is because of this train, I can tell you firsthand that this kind of service can open doors that weren’t there before.
The two daily round trips offer travelers two departure options in each direction, making day trips, weekend getaways, festivals, and travel between Gulf Coast communities easier to plan.
Frequency gives passengers options. If one departure doesn’t work, another might.
That’s not theoretical demand for rail; it’s people fitting trains into their lives.
There are already signs that the train is affecting travel beyond Amtrak’s ridership numbers. New Orleans & Company reports that visitation to New Orleans from Mobile has increased by nearly 20% since the train began running, with similar increases in visitation from communities along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Mack and I in business class on the Mardi Gras.
The Mardi Gras Service Isn’t Alone
The success of the Mardi Gras Service also reminds me of another recent Amtrak expansion, the Borealis.
In May 2024, the Borealis added a second daily train between Chicago, Milwaukee, and the Twin Cities. It has also consistently exceeded ridership expectations, carrying more than 416,000 passengers in its first two years.
To me, these two routes make a strong case:
When useful train service is available, people use it.
The Borealis didn’t create an entirely new corridor. It gave passengers another daily option on a route that already had Amtrak service.
The Mardi Gras Service did something different by restoring passenger trains to Gulf Coast communities that had gone nearly 20 years without them.
In both cases, riders showed up.
That doesn’t mean every proposed train will automatically succeed. But the Borealis and Mardi Gras Service suggest there may be more demand for passenger rail than we sometimes give Americans credit for—especially when trains run at convenient times and offer travelers more than one option.
For me, that may be the most important lesson from the Mardi Gras Service’s first year.
What Is Kev Up To?
This week I made some last-minute changes to my September adventure.
A concert and a meeting fell on my originally planned departure day, so I had to shuffle things around. The price impact worked out: I picked up about 1,500 Amtrak points from one booking change but spent 500 more on the other—so I came out 1,000 points ahead.
The real win?
I'd never booked the hotel anyway, so there were no cancellation fees. Net result: I'm losing a day on the trip, but that first day will be memorable and set up the rest of the week perfectly.
Thank You!
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Until Next Week!
Safe Travels & Happy Planning, Kev Monteith
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