Amtrak's Mardi Gras Service
Amtrak has literally rolled out their new Mardi Gras Service train's inaugural run—the first Gulf Coast rail travel between New Orleans and Mobile in 20 years.
Federal, state, and local legislators and dignitaries gathered for an early-morning celebration at the Union Passenger Terminal in New Orleans on Saturday, August 16 to introduce the new service. Many in attendance, including Louisiana's Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser, Rep. Troy A. Carter, Sr. (D-LA), Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Mobile Mayor William "Sandy" Stimpson, as well as the kings and queens of the Rex and Zulu organizations, contributed and collaborated to reinstate the defunct rail service destroyed during Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.
Y'all Aboard!
"All aboard!" was loudly announced by the head conductor concluding the ceremony in New Orleans (what?! Kermit Ruffins wasn't available for his signature catch phrase?). Mardi Gras colored parasols popped up in the station as a brass band led a second line of guests along the red carpet out to the platform to board.
The waiting train was a 10-rail-cars long train comprised of business class, coach class, and dining club cars, all being pulled by two locomotives. The inaugural trip had more rail cars than the scheduled daily service is expected to have in order to accommodate the larger ridership capacity when the train picked up more dignitaries at each station along the way to Mobile, AL.
The sunrise reflected the CBD skyline off the gleaming black engines as the Mardi Gras Service left from Loyola Avenue's Art Deco-style station on its way to the Mobile Convention Center on Water Street along Mobile Bay.
Got a Train to Catch
This first Gulf Coast rail service since Hurricane Katrina is named to honor the two coastal terminal cities most famous for Mardi Gras in North America, "Mobile for creating it and New Orleans for perfecting it" as one New Orleans speaker diplomatically noted, eliciting an appreciative laugh from the 300-guest reception luncheon in Mobile.
"I've never been on a train from Mobile to New Orleans [in my life], believe it or not—it's kind of embarrassing," laughed Mayor Stimpson in an exclusive interview with Where Y'at. "This is going to open up an opportunity for Mobile to attract international tourists looking for a day trip…we're hoping they'll get on Amtrak and come visit us in Mobile."
The renewed rail line also connects the Mississippi towns of Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi, and Pascagoula. The Mardi Gras Service's arrival at every whistle stop was met by hundreds of people. Brass bands, cheerleaders, and excited children, and enthusiastic revelers decked out in Fat Tuesday attire cheered the return of rail service. The normally three to five minute station stops were extended to 15 minutes to allow brief speeches welcoming the inaugural visit. Amtrak President Roger Harris presented a commemorative poster and a wall medallion at each station, declaring each stop "An Amtrak Served Community."
Car free is Carefree
"Coming across Lake Pontchartrain [and the bayou] in that area was really amazing," Mayor Stimpson observed. "Nobody can really understand the vastness of it until you've travelled across it [by train]—it's beautiful."
For day-tippers or riders wanting a weekend away, New Orleans' downtown train station has city bus service, cabs, ride shares—as well as the convenience of a streetcar stop on the RTA Loyola Avenue / /Union Passenger Terminal line in front of the station. Beyond serving the CBD and French Quarter areas, it offers easy transfers to the Canal Street and St. Charles Avenue streetcar lines.
Regular daily passenger service twice a day begins Monday, August 18— just in time for New Orleans Saints regular season, as well as upcoming Pelicans basketball. With the Union Passenger Terminal an easy 1600-foot walk (3/10 of a mile) to Champions Square, the ticket price would be much less than the cost of driving and parking for the Saints fans coming from the east.
Conceding while Mobile's football team is undefeated—mostly because they don't have one—Mayor Stimpson said, "We have a lot of Mobilians who want to come to Saints games and just come to New Orleans to visit and have fun."
If ridership proves to support the Mardi Gras Service, more scheduled times may be added to the train schedule in time for, well, Mardi Gras, of course.
Although the trip between the train stations New Orleans and Mobile takes an average of about two-and-a-half to three hours by car, the Mardi Gras Service expects to average around three-and-a-half hours. The scenic coastal round trip hits speeds up to 70 mph—give or take.
However, beyond train travel allowing for relaxing vistas along the coast, the Mardi Gras Service amenities also include food service, a bar, free Wi-Fi and seat chargers to work or stream entertainment, the ability to walk around, clean bathrooms in each rail car, and comfortable seats that can recline—if one prefers the train to gently rock them to sleep. A promising sign on the first trip was that despite rain while returning to Louisiana, the train experienced no traffic jams on I-10 and arrived on time—or early—at all stops.
"This will be something our citizens will look for from a travel perspective, give them something else to do, other ways to get to places," Stimpson said. "We're just glad to have it."
Riding the Rails
Amtrak Mardi Gras Service will allow same-day connections through New Orleans to the Amtrak City of New Orleans train to Chicago, next-day connections to the Amtrak Crescent trains to New York, and the remaining Amtrak Sunset Limited trains to Los Angeles via Tucson, San Antonio, and Houston. The hope is to have the success of the Mardi Gras Service galvanize extending service to Pensacola and perhaps to again reinstate the full Sunset Limited line to Jacksonville, FL in the years to come.
"It's going to be real interesting to see how it plays out," smiled Mayor Stimpson.
Now, if Amtrak can just convince Kermit Ruffins to be a conductor…"All aboard!"
