Amtrak Debuts Mardi Gras Service Between Mobile and New Orleans

Image: New Orleans.
Image: New Orleans.
Claudette Covey
by Claudette Covey
Last updated: 1:40 PM ET, Wed August 20, 2025

Amtrak launched twice-daily Mardi Gras service between Mobile, Ala., and New Orleans on August 18, providing customers with the chance to travel via rail train along the Mississippi Gulf Coast for the first time in almost 20 years, the rail company said.  

The Mardi Gras service also features same-day service between New Orleans and Chicago via Jackson, Miss., and Memphis,” Amtrak said, and “Amtrak Crescent trains between New York via Atlanta, Sunset Limited trains to and from Los Angeles by way of Tucson, San Antonio and Houston.”

The trains offer coach and business class services, a café with locally sourced items, free Wi-Fi and excellent carry-on baggage allowances. Pets are allowed onboard “in carriers and within appropriate weights,” Amtrak said.

“The return of passenger rail gives both visitors and locals a new way to enjoy the sights, sounds, and flavors that make Louisiana so special,” said Glenn Ledet, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development.

“Restarting the Amtrak line is a significant step toward establishing self-sufficient passenger rail service in the Gulf Coast region.”

One-way coach fares start at $15, with discounts available for kids ages 2 to 12, students, seniors, veterans, military personnel,  families and groups of all sizes.

Amtrak Guest Reward members can earn triple points on Amtrak Mardi Gras service travel through Nov. 18, 2025.


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