The Gulf Coast Passenger Rail Renaissance

Speaker: Knox Ross, chairman, Southern Rail Commission

Trains are making a comeback in the Deep South.

In August 2025, the Mardi Gras Service brought back Amtrak between Mobile, Alabama and New Orleans after a 20-year absence incited by Hurricane Katrina.

This project was spearheaded by the Southern Rail Commission, a federally-recognized compact between Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi, which has promoted passenger rail expansion throughout the region since 1982.

We invite you to join us and Chairman Knox Ross to learn more about this unique organization, how the Mardi Gras Service came to be, and what lies ahead for great trains along the Gulf Coast.

Even in the car-centric South, momentum for passenger rail is growing. No matter where you are in the United States, you will walk away with a wealth of insight from the successes, challenges, and mission of the Southern Rail Commission.

Knox W. Ross, Jr., CPA is the chairman of the Southern Rail Commission, a practicing Certified Public Accountant, and the former mayor of the Town of Pelahatchie, Mississippi. As a CPA, he is a principal in Ross & Betts, PLLC which specializes in individual, small business, and farm accounting and taxation.

Image © Amtrak