Amtrak’s Mardi Gras train ‘blows away’ ridership expectations

Amtrak's newly revived Mardi Gras Service between New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama is exceeding expectations for ridership, timeliness, and customer satisfaction, reports Bill Stephens in TrainsPro.

As Stephens explains, "After years of stalled attempts to restart service, Amtrak hauled host railroads CSX and Norfolk Southern before the Surface Transportation Board in 2021." The three companies reached an agreement, allowing passenger trains to finally begin running in August 2025.

The Mardi Gras trains show an 86% on-time performance figure in its first three months of operation, the third-best of Amtrak's lines. "Quarterly ridership is running at a clip that’s more than double the updated, higher ridership forecasts that Amtrak made before service began." As of January 31, almost 70,500 passengers have used the line.