When Amtrak’s Mardi Gras service between New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama, started last August, officials were anticipating that 75,000 people would climb on board in the first year. We’re eight months in, and it has already welcomed its 100,000th passenger! Walt Leger, the president and CEO of New Orleans and Company, says it’s a milestone beyond anyone’s expectations.
“To have 100,000 passengers on this Mardi Gras rail line between New Orleans and Mobile, just about eight months from the inception, is really a tremendous feat,” Leger said.
Leger says the fact that the line includes stops in places which, like New Orleans and Mobile, are exciting walkable destinations like Biloxi and Gulfport, Mississippi, has increased interest in the line.
“This, to me, was a natural progression of what could happen when you made it easier for people to be able to access our community,” Leger noted.
Leger says the success of the Mardi Gras line could ultimately result in a population boom in New Orleans and all other cities which have stops.
“People are making decisions about how easily it is to access communities, and this creates more accessibility,” Leger explained.
There are future plans to extend the Mardi Gras line further west to Baton Rouge.