The word "finally" was the oft-spoke byword at a news conference in Mobile on Tuesday.
The gist of the announcement: The long-awaited return of Amtrak service to the Alabama Gulf Coast will be on Monday, August 18, finally.
The train route named "Mardi Gras" will begin running twice-a-day service between two cities, both of which are famous for huge Mardi Gras seasons each year — Mobile and New Orleans.
In between the start and end of each trip, the train will stop and pick up or leave passengers in stops along the way — Pascagoula, Biloxi, Gulfport and Bay St. Louis.
The Tuesday news conference was repeated at each of the stops of the route, starting where the trip will commence in Mobile. It featured officials of Amtrak, railroad officials and local officials in each city.
Tickets on the new route are now available at Amtrak.com, the Amtrak mobile app and at 1-800-USA-RAIL. Fares were announced at $15 for each way for the full trip, with lower charges for stops en route.
Special rates were mentioned for children ages 2-12, students, seniors, veterans, military personnel and groups.
There was chatter in the news conferences and online about the cheapness of the tickets. Often, parking in New Orleans is $15 or more. The cost of gasoline to drive the route would be close to the $15 cost of a ticket to let Amtrak "leave the driving to us."
The passenger cars will include reclining seats, free WIFI, pets allowed in approved carriers and dining service.
An invitation-only inaugural trip will be held on August 16, the Saturday two days before the public opening.
The Mardi Gras route will be a resumption of service that halted in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina ruined substantial infrastructure on the coastline — rails, bridges and other. That pre-2005 service was part of a longer Amtrak route that went from New Orleans in the west to Jacksonville, Fla., in the east. In New Orleans, westbound passengers could not connect to further Amtrak service to Los Angeles.
The new service has been in the making for years but was postponed several times, leading to the frequent use of the term "finally" in the Tuesday news conference.
Jim 'Zig' Zeigler's beat is the colorful and positive about Alabama -- her people, places, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at [email protected].
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