Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Amtrak

Friday Video: The Secret History of Amtrak’s Mardi Gras Service

...and what it means for new passenger rail service across America.

When Amtrak started running the Mardi Gras Service started running between New Orleans and Mobile in August, it restored passenger rail to the Gulf Coast for the first time since Hurricane Katrina. To make that happen, though, required a decade-long effort — and the creation of a new national rail program that has had ripple effects acrossAmerica.

Check out this fantastic short documentary from our friends at Smart Growth America, who fought hard behind the scenes to reimagine the policies and funding streams that power the country's passenger trains, starting in the South. And learn more about the dramatic untold history of how advocates are breaking boundaries to keep the trains running — and to get new ones rolling.

View this video on YouTube here.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday’s Headlines Walk the Line

If you're a capitalist, the market says there's a premium for living in a walkable neighborhood. So why not supply more to meet demand?

December 19, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: Fighting to Win

Carter Lavin talks with Jeff Wood about the necessity of messy politics in obtaining street safety.

December 18, 2025

Streetsblog’s ‘Car-Free Carolers’ Bring the Joy, Mirth and Ho-Ho-Hope to this Holiday Season

Streetsblog's singers are back, belting out their parody classics to make a serious point: New York's roadways don't have to be dangerous places for kids and lungs, but can be joyous spaces for people to walk around, shop, eat or just ... hang out.

December 18, 2025

Study: More Protected Bike Lanes = More Micromobility Users

This ought to silence doubters who claim that no one's using that shiny new cycle track.

December 18, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Are Hot-Blooded, Check It and See

Hopefully the Earth won't have a fever of 103 when judges get done with the Trump administration's proposal to dismantle greenhouse gas regulations.

December 18, 2025

Denver Activists Hijack Road Signs To Decry The Dangers of Automobility

Plus: a few suggestions for holiday-themed hackers.

December 17, 2025
See all posts