BACK ON TRACK

Amtrak's Mardi Gras Service Returns

by Christian Wagley

In an age of the quick and impersonal, I prefer that which is deliberate, up close, connected and meaningful. And so it is that I find myself on the way to Mobile, AL to ride the new Amtrak train to New Orleans, a relaxed and thoughtful way to travel the northern Gulf Coast.

The new train line is officially called the Mardi Gras Service, reflecting the regional history of Mardi Gras as the celebration first began in Mobile in 1703 before growing into a world-famous party in New Orleans. Since beginning in August, over 20,000 people have enjoyed a new era in regional train travel with twice-daily service originating in New Orleans and Mobile with stops along the Mississippi coast in Bay Saint Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula. Restoring train service to the region has been a goal for Gulf coast communities since Amtrak dropped service to the area following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

I hop on the train at the downtown Mobile station late afternoon on a Tuesday, ready for a couple of beautiful fall days in New Orleans. Cars are about half full on this quiet weekday, and the ticket price of $24 each way reflects the low mid-week demand. I love the spacious seating, and passengers seem genuinely excited to be on a train, chatting up the conductors and each other.

I hop on the train at the downtown Mobile station late afternoon on a Tuesday, ready for a couple of beautiful fall days in New Orleans. Cars are about half full on this quiet weekday, and the ticket price of $24 each way reflects the low mid-week demand. I love the spacious seating, and passengers seem genuinely excited to be on a train, chatting up the conductors and each other.

For many years I’ve chosen train travel when I can, as it offers a more up-close view of local history and culture. There’s an intimacy on the train, both inside and outside, that cars and airplanes can’t match.

That view of Gulf coast life begins as soon as the train leaves the station, running south alongside the busy Port of Mobile with ships traveling the Mobile River, while other ships are under construction or moored for repair.

We pass through sprawling west Mobile and into Mississippi, across the piney woods of Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge and a lone field of fluffy white cotton ready for harvest. It’s a little taste of Southern history and the crop that made Mobile a 19th century powerhouse on the Gulf.

Each town along the way has its own bit of uniqueness. In Pascagoula, it’s shipbuilding and industry, and crossing the delta of the Pascagoula River, a hot spot for wildlife and the longest un-dammed river in the contiguous 48 states. In Biloxi, it’s a center of commercial fishing and the first view of the casinos that are common along the Mississippi coast. At Bay St. Louis we stop at the old 1929 train station, built in the Mission Revival style and the setting for much of the 1966 film This Property is Condemned, starring Robert Redford and Natalie Wood.

But for me there’s as much appeal in the seemingly more mundane. The lower speeds on the train, and the fact that the line passes through the heart of coastal towns, brings daily life into view.

It’s people sitting on front porches. Dogs lounging in back yards. Kids and families at football practice. Diners sitting outside a restaurant… We’re seeing these towns more fully than you can speeding by in a car on Interstate 10, subject to the morass of trial lawyer billboards and strip shopping centers. There’s also a friendliness among the passengers, as many gather in the cafe car for food, beverage and conversation, as the relaxed nature of train travel and the spaciousness onboard puts passengers in a cheery mood.

We never go far without crossing one of the dozens of creeks, bays and bayous along the way, bringing lots of water views. Near the Mississippi-Louisiana border we come to my favorite part of the trip, a 30 mile crossing of a large expanse of tidal marsh south of Lake Pontchartrain and the mouth of the Pearl River.

We reach the area at sunset and admire a glowing sky of orange across the verdant green of the marsh. On the return trip, I experience this same stretch in full daylight, bringing fantastic views of a natural bounty of wading birds, fish and alligators, all from the comfort of an air-conditioned rail car.

We arrive in New Orleans ahead of schedule, and the Union Passenger Terminal is conveniently located just across from the Central Business District. The city’s iconic streetcars run in front of the station, allowing for easy access downriver to neighborhoods like Marigny and the French Quarter, and upriver to the Garden District. I take a short walk to my hotel and then venture out for a stroll down Bourbon Street before it gets too late, and too loud. You don’t need a car in New Orleans.

Yes, it would be faster to drive to New Orleans. But that’s not the point.

The point is to see and experience the Gulf coast. To sit back and let someone else do the driving. To not have to park a car in New Orleans. To be able to visit with fellow passengers along the way.

While New Orleans is a world class city, a lifetime of accumulated wisdom tells me that a good trip is about both the destination and the journey. That’s where traveling by train makes it a complete trip.

Taking the train

For travel from Mobile to New Orleans, trains depart Mobile every day at 6:30 am and 4:30 pm. The trip takes about three hours and forty minutes, arriving at the Union Passenger Terminal adjacent to the Central Business District of New Orleans. You can also hop off at any of four cities along the Mississippi coast. Parking is available onsite in Mobile for $15/day, or you can park on the street in an unmetered area and walk to the station.

For the return trip from New Orleans to Mobile, trains leave New Orleans every day at 7:35 am and 5:31 pm. Visit amtrak.com for reservations and more information.