Gulf Coast Limited

The Gulf Coast Limited was a passenger train service operated by Amtrak along the Gulf Coast of the United States. It ran daily between New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, with stops in Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi, and Pascagoula, Mississippi. The route first operated in 1984–1985, and again in 1996–1997.

Amtrak plans to resume service over the former route of the Gulf Coast Limited in 2024, with two daily round trips. The restored route has been referred to as the Gulf Coast and Mardi Gras Service during planning, with a final name yet to be confirmed.

Route
The Gulf Coast Limited operated over a 145 mi route from New Orleans to Mobile, hugging the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The majority of this route is now owned by CSX Transportation (NO&M Subdivision), save a few miles around the New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal and East City Junction, which are owned by Amtrak and the Norfolk Southern Railway, respectively.

History
Up to the latter 1960s, the New Orleans to Mobile route was served by several passenger trains a day. The Louisville & Nashville operated the daily trains, Gulf Wind (New Orleans–Jacksonville), Pan-American (New Orleans–Cincinnati) and Humming Bird (New Orleans–Cincinnati), as well as another unnamed day train (New Orleans–Jacksonville). Additionally, the L&N operated the Crescent and the Piedmont Limited (both New Orleans-New York trains) on the route.

The Gulf Coast Limited was also the name of a train operated by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad between New York and the west coast of Florida.

First iteration (1984–1985)
The Gulf Coast Limited grew out of a feasibility study conducted by the Louisiana-Mississippi-Alabama Rapid Rail Transit Commission in the early 1980s. The study sought a commuter rail service centered on New Orleans linking Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Slidell, Louisiana, or Mobile, Alabama. In the end the Commission opted for a New Orleans—Mobile service, prompted in part by the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition. The three states entered into a 403(b) arrangement with Amtrak; under this provision Amtrak undertakes to operate a service but the contracting states subsidize most of the cost. The first train ran on April 29, 1984.

In the fall Amtrak explored extending the Gulf Coast Limited from Mobile to Birmingham, Alabama (a route later served by the Gulf Breeze), but did not alter the train's route. The train was popular, but service ended on January 6, 1985, after Mississippi declined to continue its support.

Second iteration (1996–1997)
In 1993, Amtrak extended the long-distance Sunset Limited from New Orleans to Florida, consequently restoring service along the New Orleans–Mobile corridor.

Amtrak revived the Gulf Coast Limited on June 27, 1996, following the cancellation of the Gulf Breeze. The states of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi each contributed $185,000 for a 90-day trial run. Amtrak estimated that yearly operation would cost $3.1 million. The train used the same route as its 1984 iteration, though without a stop in East New Orleans.

Initial ridership was higher than expected: a standard consist could seat 134, but weekend trains regularly carried 300, against 50–60 on weekdays. A federal appropriation allowed Amtrak to extend the Gulf Coast Limited six months beyond the trial period, but additional state money was not forthcoming. Service ended March 31, 1997.

The concurrent Gulf Coast Limited and Sunset Limited resulted in ten weekly round trips between New Orleans and Mobile: the corridor's highest service level since the formation of Amtrak and a record unmatched since 1997.

In 2005, the Sunset Limited was indefinitely suspended east of New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina, ending all service on the former route of the Gulf Coast Limited.

Planned restoration
In July 2017, the Gulf Coast Working Group of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) submitted a report to Congress recommending restoration of service on the New Orleans–Mobile corridor.

In June 2019, the FRA announced a grant award of $33 million to restore Amtrak service between New Orleans and Mobile, and to upgrade tracks, stations, and other facilities to support improved passenger rail service. The grant was matched by funds from Louisiana, Mississippi, and the City of Mobile. Officials announced plans for up to four daytime rail trips per day within 24 months, serving the cities of New Orleans, Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi, and Pascagoula. Having received a commitment of support from Mobile, if the state of Alabama participates, service could be extended to downtown Mobile.

On February 23, 2021, following the conclusion of one year of negotiations with CSX and Norfolk Southern, Amtrak officials announced that Gulf Coast Service between New Orleans and Mobile would start as early as January 2022. Amtrak plans to pay for repairs along the route. As of late 2022, after lengthy negotiations with Norfolk Southern and CSX, Amtrak now expects Gulf Coast service to begin sometime in 2024.

In its annual report published in March 2023, Amtrak referred to the new service simply as the Gulf Coast and reiterated that two round trips would begin in fiscal year 2023. As of June 2023, Amtrak is running test trains along the corridor and continuing to make preparations for the service to begin. In early August 2023, it was reported that an agreement between Amtrak, CSX, and the city of Mobile on the design and construction of the station there had not yet been reached, and that the service was now not expected to start until the first quarter of 2024. In late August the working name of the train was reported to be Mardi Gras Service. The following month, Amtrak received nearly $200 million in federal grants. They announced that up to just over $178 million of that money would be used in the Gulf Coast Corridor Improvement Project that will allow Mardi Gras Service to start.

In December 2023, the Federal Railroad Administration accepted an application by the Southern Rail Commission to enter the New Orleans–Mobile route into its Corridor Identification and Development Program. The program grants $500,000 toward service planning and prioritizes the route for future federal funding.

In January 2024, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) called for “detailed information” on the status of the agreement that first agreed upon in November 2022 between all the parties involved in the new Amtrak Gulf Coast service. A hearing was scheduled for February 14, but the parties asked for the hearing and the case to be scrapped when they sent their update on February 1. Their filing indicated that the delay in the start of service was due to ongoing negotiations between Amtrak and the city of Mobile. As of April 2024, Amtrak plans to start operations in October 2024.