The Clarion Ledger took a ride on the inaugural run of Amtrak's Mardi Gras service that goes along Mississippi Coast. Get an inside look.

“Once you get to New Orleans, you can catch the Crescent up to the Northeast. You can catch the city of New Orleans up to Chicago or the Sunset Limited out to California. It really now connects Mobile to anywhere in the country and to the entire Amtrak network. And that’s going to be wonderful for people,” Daniel Day said.

After two decades of negotiations and rebuilding, passenger trains reconnect Gulf Coast cities, but financial hurdles remain.