Riders love the new Mardi Gras train and give it highest rating of any Amtrak line
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- Mardi Gras line drew 41,000 riders in 90 days and earned 95.8% satisfaction.
- Service ran twice daily New Orleans–Mobile with 86% on-time arrivals.
- Passengers favor staff, cafe sales and group discounts, boosting peak ridership.
The Amtrak train passed through downtown Bay St. Louis Friday morning just as the Southern Rail Commission met to provide updates on the new Mardi Gras line and honor Kay Kell for her part in restoring Amtrak passenger service.
The meeting drew Amtrak board members from as far as Idaho to deliver the news about the impressive start to Amtrak’s first expansion of this kind of train service in 20 years.
The 90-day snapshot covered the timeframe from the first train in August through mid-November.
Arun Rao, senior director of network development for Amtrak’s central region, said most impressive of all is the 95.8% customer satisfaction score.
“And it’s the highest score of any Amtrak route across the country,” he said. “We keep seeing amazing comments coming through, and they all mention staff,” he said.
The message he said “is that we’re we’re not done. We’re just getting started.”
Just how good were the first 90 days?
Rao backed up his comments with the numbers that demonstrate the success of the Mardi Gras line during the first 90 days:
- The line exceeded expectations, with 41,000 total riders
- 458 average passengers a day
- 64% load factor, or seats occupied. Many very successful Amtrack lines don’t have that, he said
- 75% peak ridership between peak stations “Is also off the charts,” he said.
- 54% of the passengers ride the full length, between Mobile and New Orleans
- Biloxi is the busiest station of the four in Mississippi
On-time service was the biggest issue with the passenger trains before Hurricane Katrina, when the trains originated in California and had long distances to get off track on the schedule. The Mardi Gras line runs strictly between New Orleans and Mobile twice a day, with four quick stops in Mississippi, and that has helped the trains stay on schedule.
Rao said:
- 86% of customers are arriving on time. “We have a goal of 80%,” he said.
- 95% of trains coming out of New Orleans or Mobile are leaving on time
- The most popular travel day is Saturday
- People are using share discounts for parties of three to eight people “So it is party time on that train.: he said.
- Highest sales in the café car are Tito’s and other adult beverages
People aren’t riding the trains because they are in a hurry to get somewhere.
“It’s not fast, yet we are filling the trains,” Rao said.
Kell fought for years to get trains back
“Relentless,” is how Judy Young, director of Coastal Mississippi, South Mississippi’s tourism promotion agency, described Kell’s commitment to returning trains to the Coast.
“I’ve just loved trains for so long I don’t know how to stop,” Kell said. She doesn’t think her purpose in life was to help get passenger trains back on track, “But maybe it is,” she said, “and I think we’ve succeeded.
Young presented Kell with the Mississippi Tourism Association’s Community Volunteer of the Year Award for her efforts in restoring passenger rail service.
The award was announced at the Governor’s Conference by the Mississippi Tourism Association, she said, when Kell was traveling abroad. Young saluted Kell for dedicating her life to serving South Mississippi. She was the city manager in Pascagoula and continues to serve on the Southern Rail Commission.
“Her visionary leadership has transformed the region’s tourism landscape,” Young said.
“Her passion, grit and get-it-done attitude, aka relentlessness, have made her a mentor, a trailblazer and a force for good,” Young said.
This story was originally published December 5, 2025 at 2:47 PM.
