New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama will once again be just a train ride apart soon.
A new line connecting the two cities — the Amtrak Mardi Gras Service — will begin service August 18, officials with the national passenger railroad company announced Tuesday. Twice a day, a train will leave from both cities, including early morning and late afternoon departures. A one way trip will cost $15 for coach — less if passengers get on or off at one of the four Mississippi coast cities along the way.
This comes 20 years after Hurricane Katrina ended Amtrak travel between the two cities.
“It’s just a testament to the perseverance of a lot of people on the coast that made this a reality,” Knox Ross, chairman of the Southern Rail Commission, said. “It’s very important to the coast to make it whole.”
The first train will leave at 6:30am from Mobile with a 7:35am train departing from According to Amtrak’s website. The afternoon train will leave Mobile at 4:30 and New Orleans at 5:31.
Supporters say the line will boost tourism in the three states, especially for the Mississippi cities hoping some of New Orleans' international draw will now have an easy path to visiting. It will also let residents living on the coast connect to New Orleans for further Amtrak travel as far as Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City.
Damage from Katrina cut off the Amtrak line connecting the cities, but opposition from freight train operators is behind the restoration’s delay over the last two decades. Railroad owners like CSX warned that allowing Amtrak back onto these lines — most train tracks in the United States are owned by private companies — would get in the way of their freight rail business.
In the 20 years since the passenger train service ended, freight trains had a growth spurt. Some trains stretch for more than three miles. That’s longer than the passing lanes on this set of Gulf tracks, making it much harder to share with a passenger service. The companies argued in the past that delays to accommodate Amtrak or shortening the trains would financially harm them.
Political leaders in Mobile, Alabama also took up that argument. During a hearing about that with federal regulators in 2022, Mobile city councilman Joel Daves argued any tourism benefits would be outweighed by the harm done to Mobile’s economy. The Port of Mobile relies heavily on freight trains to get cargo to and from ships.
Since that hearing, freight companies have been persuaded to support the line after years of negotiations and the promise of funding to upgrade those private rail lines, including a nearly $180 million grant from the Federal Railroad Administration. More funding will come from the railroads themselves, Louisiana, Mississippi, the Alabama Port Authority and City of Mobile.
That construction might cause delays on the line, according to Amtrak’s website, which lists the trip at 3 hours and 43 minutes.
Most of those upgrades are still years from completion. Temporary train platforms are being used in Mobile and other cities for now. Despite starting the Amtrak line before all the upgrades are in place, Ross does not expect delays and believes the service will only get faster.
“It’s going to make it a 21st century railroad,” Ross said. “It’s going to be a great part of the industrial development of Mobile all the way to New Orleans.”
This story was produced by the Gulf States Newsroom, a collaboration between Mississippi Public Broadcasting, WBHM in Alabama, WWNO and WRKF in Louisiana and NPR.
