AL: The Gulf Coast’s hottest Amtrak question: Which city packs the Mardi Gras Service

Mobile has seen 26,174 riders board the Amtrak Mardi Gras Service in just under seven months, and the city is outperforming New Orleans on a per‑capita basis among the two largest anchors of the coastal route.

Since the service launched on August 18, Mobile is averaging roughly 130 boardings per 1,000 residents. That’s roughly the equivalent of about 13% of the city’s population hopping on an Amtrak train — or one boarding for every seven to eight Mobilians.

“At the end of the day, not everyone is riding just to New Orleans,” said David Clark, president & CEO of Visit Mobile and a member of the Southern Rail Commission, which long pushed for restoring passenger rail along the Gulf Coast.

“People are riding the train,” Clark said. “Most of the destinations are getting the benefit, per capita. This clearly indicates Mobilians have an appetite to ride the trains.”

Knox Ross, chair of the Southern Rail Commission, sees another message in the numbers: “people like coming to Mobile.”

“The way I take these numbers if that the days of Mobile being seen as a city of perpetual potential and all of that, I think it puts a lot of that to rest,” Ross said.

Still, New Orleans remains the heavyweight. More than 45% of all 83,079 riders from Aug. 18 to March 10 stepped off the train at Union Passenger Terminal. Mobile comes in second, with 31.8% of riders departing at the Water Street stop.

The early data hints at a renewed nudge‑and‑wink rivalry between the two Mardi Gras capitals — a friendly but proud back‑and‑forth that’s been part of the train’s identity since its inaugural run, when Carnival royalty from both cities participated in the festivities.

Marc Magliari, Amtrak spokesman, said one of the company’s earliest delights has been watching that rivalry play out.

“It was celebrated on the first day when krewes on both sides participated and exposed Mobilians to New Orleans Mardi Gras while exposing New Orleans folks to Mobile’s Mardi Gras,” Magliari said. “That has been a great part of the fun.”

But the fun sits alongside scrutiny. These early ridership figures will be watched closely as states and cities eventually reconsider subsidies for the state‑supported route. Funding is secured for the first three years, but Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi will need to continue supporting the service to supplement federal costs.

Amtrak released ridership totals for each of the six stops along the route, but not demographic or origin‑destination data. Some of those details, the company says, are proprietary.

“It was a hard one to estimate,” Ross said about the overall ridership statistics surpassing expectations. “There was no way to know for sure how people would respond to it. What it tells you is this is maybe the model for other city pairs going forward in looking at where service can be successful.”

The standout performer so far is Bay St. Louis, the waterfront Mississippi town of about 10,600 residents. With 4,755 boardings, it has by far the highest per‑capita ridership — roughly one train rider for every two residents. Its walkable station, surrounded by boutiques, inns and restaurants, appears to be a major draw.

“I think the story on the Mississippi coast is Bay St. Louis,” Ross said. “They are putting on almost as many people on a train as Gulfport. They have put the most into this. They have a host for about every train that comes in there, a golf cart and taxi services and a lot of things like that.”

Biloxi comes in second, slightly ahead of Mobile, with 6,840 boardings — about one for every seven residents. Pascagoula was right behind Mobile with per capita ridership. In last was Gulfport.

For Mobile, Ross said the early numbers prove the train is more than a New Orleans shuttle, countering years of criticism that the route would serve only one destination. The long path to restoration began after Hurricane Katrina abruptly ended Gulf Coast passenger rail in 2005.

Ross credits Mobile’s leadership, past and present, along with Clark’s Visit Mobile, for the strong start.

“The numbers don’t lie,” he said. “We’ve look at this and I ran the numbers several months ago on a per capita basis, and that’s where you have the overperformers. Bay St. Louis and Mobile are overperformers. We’ll see where all of this goes, but the numbers haven’t tailed off.”

The added numbers provide a broader look at the service as SRC members look to address other issues, such as safety awareness, the potential of adding a stop in Ocean Springs during festivals or finding ways to add an additional train car during peak travel periods. Amtrak, however, has limited cars available to accommodate the extra demand.

Amtrak added an extra car to accommodate larger ridership during the Carnival season last month. It also added capacity on the weekends during the NFL season to meet high demand around New Orleans Saints home games at Caesars Superdome. The dome is within walking distance of Union Passenger Terminal.

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