USA: Amtrak’s Mardi Gras Service marked its first full year on the Gulf Coast today, and the numbers have outpaced the closest comparable forecast by nearly four to one.

Amtrak Mardi Gras Service train on the Gulf Coast
Amtrak Mardi Gras Service train on the Gulf Coast. Photo: Amtrak.

WLOX reported that the service carried about 150,000 passengers during its first year. The 2015 Amtrak evaluation commissioned by the Southern Rail Commission projected 38,400 annual passengers for Alternative B, which featured two daily state-supported round trips between New Orleans and Mobile. A later pre-launch estimate put annual ridership at 71,000, according to the Rail Passengers Association. The first-year result was therefore nearly four times the comparable 2015 forecast and more than double the later estimate.

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Why Amtrak Mardi Gras Service beat its forecasts

The corridor was previously used by the Gulf Coast Limited, which ended in 1997 due to a lack of sustained state funding, and by the Sunset Limited until its service east of New Orleans was suspended in August 2005. Hurricane Katrina damaged approximately 110 miles of railway and several major bridges. CSX restored its freight main line in spring 2006, but Amtrak passenger service did not return until August 2025. The two-decade gap left planners without recent operating ridership from a comparable passenger service, although the 2015 evaluation used market-research demand models.

What comes next for Amtrak Mardi Gras Service

The first-year total works out to approximately 411 passenger trips per day across four one-way trains. The next indicators will be whether demand continues during the second year, whether Amtrak adds permanent coach capacity following the temporary increases used for Saints games and Carnival season, and whether the federally funded study of a possible seasonal or permanent Ocean Springs stop leads to a timetable change.

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