Amtrak Mardi Gras Service adds a coach car for Carnival season

Amtrak Mardi Gras Service will run with an additional coach car starting Friday, keeping the larger consist in place throughout the Carnival season.

This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

In a Thursday release, Visit Mobile said the extra car will be added to trains 23 and 26—two of the four itineraries on the Mobile–New Orleans route. Train 23 departs Mobile for New Orleans daily at 6:30 a.m., and Train 26 leaves New Orleans for Mobile daily at 5:31 p.m.

Amtrak Mardi Gras Service capacity during Carnival season

The expanded setup will stay in place through Feb. 23. During that period, the service will operate with three 58-seat coach cars, a café car, and the 17-seat Business class car. In typical operation, it runs with two coach cars.

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Additional coach car follows earlier demand-driven changes

This is the second time Amtrak has added an additional coach car to the service. The Mardi Gras Service launched in mid-August, and an extra car was previously added on weekends when the New Orleans Saints had a home football game. That move was temporary, while the Carnival season addition will remain in place continuously for 45 days.

Route details: Mobile–New Orleans stops and stations

Amtrak Mardi Gras Service is a twice-daily connection between Mobile and New Orleans, with four stops along coastal Mississippi: Pascagoula, Biloxi, Gulfport and Bay St. Louis. In Mobile, the train stops downtown next to the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center on Water Street. In New Orleans, it arrives at Union Passenger Terminal.

The idea to add another coach car was discussed in early December during a Southern Rail Commission meeting in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. In a statement, Clark said the request reflected the route’s early success and the earlier decision to add a car during Saints home games. “In seeing the absolute success of the Mardi Gras Service and considering Amtrak’s decision to add a car during the New Orleans Saints home games, it simply made sense for the commissioners to send this request on behalf of all Mardi Gras revelers,” Clark said. “This route is currently earning the highest ratings in customer satisfaction of any Amtrak’s lines in the entire United States, and we are thrilled to share the Mardi Gras spirit with even more people.”

Visit Mobile’s announcement came the same day the Southern Rail Commission highlighted Amtrak merchandise connected to the new service.

Ridership figures provided in December show the line has carried more than 46,000 passengers in its first 90 days, far exceeding projections—an early performance also discussed by Railway Supply. The route is now on track to more than double Amtrak’s initial 12-month estimate of 71,000 riders.

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