After devastation, It took 20 years for this train to get back on track

More than 20 years after Hurricane Katrina devastated parts of the U.S. Gulf Coast, Amtrak’s coastal passenger service has finally returned. While freight trains returned to the tracks within months, the passenger relaunch required decades of legal and financial mediation involving Amtrak, the freight rail companies that own the line, and the Surface Transportation Board. The route relaunched in August 2025 after being historically part of Amtrak’s Sunset Limited, now branded as the Mardi Gras service. It runs from New Orleans to Mobile in less than four hours and surpassed expectations, hitting 100,000 passengers in April. The article also links Katrina-era recovery to coastal regulation changes and ongoing rebuilding.