Biloxi, MS (BIX)

Biloxi is known for its ocean views and year-round good weather, and it attracts tourists looking to enjoy sandy beaches, fishing and other outdoor pursuits, and numerous casino resorts.

890 Esters Blvd.
Biloxi, MS 39530

Annual Ticket Revenue (FY 2024): N/A
Annual Station Ridership (FY 2024): N/A

Ownerships
Routes Served
Contact
Local Community Links

Facility Ownership: City of Biloxi
Parking Lot Ownership: City of Biloxi
Platform Ownership: CSX Transportation (CSXT)
Track Ownership: CSX Transportation (CSXT)

Amtrak Mardi Gras Service

Todd Stennis
Regional Contact
governmentaffairsnol@amtrak.com
For information about Amtrak fares and schedules, please visit Amtrak.com or call 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245).

Downtown Biloxi occupies a peninsula bounded by the Mississippi Sound to the south and the Bay of Biloxi to the north and east. The city is known for its ocean views and year-round good weather, and it attracts tourists looking to enjoy sandy beaches, fishing and other outdoor pursuits. Biloxi also boasts a number of casino resorts that attract visitors from across the wider region. In addition to gambling facilities, they offer amenities including golf courses, fine dining and a variety of live entertainment.

The Amtrak station consists of a platform on the block bounded by Caillavet and Reynoir Streets south of the CSX railroad tracks. Since the 1870s, this site has hosted at least three depots, all of which are now gone. It’s about a half-mile north of the Mississippi Sound, which in that area is lined with casinos. Keesler Federal Park, home of the Biloxi Shuckers baseball team, can also be reached within 10 minutes on foot, as can the Biloxi Transit Center, which is served by intercity and local Coast Transit Authority buses. For those arriving or departing by car, the station is easily accessible from Interstate 110 or coastal Highway 90.

Amtrak restored passenger rail service to Biloxi via the Amtrak Mardi Gras Service on August 18, 2025. The service name references the long history of Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans, Mobile, Alabama, and the communities of coastal Mississippi. Amtrak operates this service under contracts with the states of Louisiana and Mississippi, financial support by the City of Mobile, and with the long-time backing of the Southern Rail Commission, an interstate compact working on behalf of the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation support operating expenses for this route and are funding improvements for freight and Amtrak trains.

At New Orleans, the Amtrak Mardi Gras Service allows same-day connections in both directions daily to the famed City of New Orleans (New Orleans-Memphis-Chicago), as well as next-day connections to the Crescent  (New Orleans-Atlanta-New York) and Sunset Limited  (New Orleans-Houston-Tucson-Los Angeles).

Amtrak formerly served Biloxi via the Gulf Coast Limited (New Orleans-Mobile) from April 1984 to January 1985. The states of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana funded this temporary service to promote regional tourism tied to the Louisiana World Exposition held in New Orleans. The service was later revived from June 1996 through March 1997 using state and federal funds.

The community was also served by the Sunset Limited from March 1993 until August 2005, when this Los Angeles-New Orleans train was extended east to Miami, and subsequently truncated to Orlando. Amtrak halted service east of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, which severely damaged the region’s rail infrastructure.

Mississippi was home to the Choctaw and Chickasaw peoples when the first Europeans – mainly the French – began exploring the area in the mid-17th century. The Choctaw occupied the lower two thirds of present-day Mississippi while the Chickasaw were to the north. Both peoples lived in networks of villages and pursued agriculture as well as hunting to meet their needs.

Rene-Robert, Cavalier de La Salle, claimed present-day Mississippi – and other lands drained by the Mississippi River – for France in 1682. This large territory was referred to as “Louisiana” in honor of King Louis XIV. Initial settlements were limited to areas along the Gulf of America coast and the lower Mississippi River.

Fort Maurepas, the first European settlement in Mississippi, and the first capital of French Louisiana, was established on the east side of Biloxi Bay in 1699 by explorer Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville. But by 1702, the capital was moved to Mobile – then briefly returned to Biloxi from 1719-22 – before moving further west to New Orleans, which would become the primary city of French Louisiana.

Defeated by Great Britain during the French and Indian War, France lost control of Louisiana in 1763. Spain gained possession of the French territory west of the Mississippi River, including New Orleans, while Britain took control of land to the east. The latter region subsequently fell under Spanish and then American control in 1795. That year, the United States and Spain signed a treaty establishing the border of Spanish Florida – which included present-day Florida and the coastal regions of Mississippi and Alabama. The treaty allowed American settlement to proceed in central Mississippi and permitted Americans free navigation of the Mississippi River.

The Mississippi Territory was organized in 1798. By 1812, when the United States annexed the coastal regions disputed by Spain, the territory had grown to include most of present-day Mississippi and Alabama. The western half became the state of Mississippi in 1817, with the east admitted as the state of Alabama two years later. The continuing dispute with Spain over the coastal areas was eventually settled under the Onís-Adams Treaty of 1819, by which Spain also ceded present-day Florida.

Advancing American settlement following the War of 1812 also led to conflict with the Choctaw and Chickasaw, who were pressured to cede their lands in central and northern Mississippi. In the 1820s, a new state law cancelled American Indian land claims and gave the state jurisdiction over those lands. This was followed by the signing of the Indian Removal Act of 1830 by President Andrew Jackson. It allowed the president to grant unsettled lands west of the Mississippi River to American Indian peoples in exchange for lands within state borders.

These federal and state actions culminated in the 1830 Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, in which the Choctaw gave up their remaining lands and agreed to move to what is now Oklahoma; the Chickasaw ceded their northern Mississippi lands two years later.

Development of coastal Mississippi was boosted during this time by the construction of early roads linking Louisiana and Mississippi, followed by steamboat service that connected Gulf ports to one another and New Orleans. These new transportation routes spurred local industries along the coast, including timber harvesting – primarily yellow pine – and turpentine production.

One of the city’s primary landmarks was erected at this time: the 64-foot-tall Biloxi Lighthouse. Completed in 1848, it was one of the first cast-iron lighthouses in the South and part of a series installed along the coast. The building’s exterior consists of metal plates cast in Baltimore that were shipped to Biloxi and bolted together on site; the interior was then lined with brick.

Over the years, the lighthouse had numerous female lightkeepers until the U.S. Coast Guard assumed full responsibility for the building in 1939. In the 1960s, the lighthouse was deeded to the city and is now open for tours. During Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, more than a third of the lighthouse was submerged in storm surge, but it held strong and was restored – a symbol of the Gulf Coast’s resilience.

On November 21, 1870, coastal communities gained regular passenger and freight rail service with the arrival of the New Orleans, Mobile & Chattanooga Railroad (NOM&C). Planned to connect New Orleans and Mobile via the coast, the railroad would be 140 miles long. Construction got underway in 1869 and took 20 months; although relatively short, the line presented the builders with several obstacles, including marshy terrain and rivers and bays that needed to be bridged.

Another problem was shipworms, which bored into and weakened the wood pilings that supported the track in marshy areas, requiring the NOM&C to rebuild sections of the railroad. The company soon found a solution to better preserve their wood – infusing it with creosote, which waterproofed the pilings and repelled shipworms and insects.

Once the railroad had reached New Orleans, the company signaled its intention for further westward expansion by changing its name to the New Orleans, Mobile & Texas Railway Company, but that ambition was never realized in part due to the cost of the rebuilding efforts. The railroad was purchased and subsumed into the Louisville & Nashville Railroad (L&N) in 1881.

What had once been an 18-hour trip by steamboat from New Orleans to Mobile now took just five hours by rail – making the region more accessible for travelers and business. The railroad allowed seafood such as shrimp and oysters to be canned or iced for shipment to larger cities, along with agricultural products including vegetables and pecans.

The arrival of the railroad strengthened Biloxi’s position as a resort destination. Prior to the Civil War, it and other communities along the coast had started to attract tourists who came to enjoy the sea breezes and recreational opportunities. The year was divided into two “seasons” – during the summer, regional visitors from as far as New Orleans and inland areas to the north came to escape the heat, while in the winter, visitors from the Northeast and Midwest flocked south to enjoy the warm weather and sunshine.

The railroad also supported Biloxi’s development as a center for seafood canning – especially shrimp and oysters. The first cannery was built in 1881 – and by the 1920s, there were more than 40 seafood canneries occupying districts at Point Cadet and Back Bay. At the dawn of the 20th century, Biloxi could boast that it was the “Seafood Capital of the World.” The industry attracted new immigrants to the city, including Austro-Croatians, Bohemians and Cajun families from Louisiana, who worked in jobs such as fisherman, shrimp picker, oyster shucker and packer.

In 1901, the L&N built a new Biloxi depot as a replacement for an earlier structure that had burned in a November 1900 fire. That blaze damaged numerous properties in the blocks to the south toward Howard Avenue. Located on the same block as the current Amtrak station, the new one-story wood frame building had deep eaves supported by large brackets to protect customers from sun and inclement weather as they waited to board the train. It was covered in clapboard; trim that ran around the structure, connecting the windows’ sills and lintels, emphasized the depot’s horizontal orientation. Trackside, a projecting bay allowed the station manager to monitor activity along the platform and tracks. Adjacent to the passenger depot was a Railway Express Office for the shipping and processing of packages via the railroad.

Complementing the depot was Biloxi City Park, developed by the city and business interests on railroad land directly to the south. In 1915, a welcome arch – with “Biloxi” illuminated by electric lights – was installed so it was visible to rail passengers. The railroad later donated the land to the city, and the park evolved into a hub for community activities, including dances and picnics. In 1965, the parkland was sold, and the arch was later relocated to the Town Green near the waterfront where it still welcomes visitors.

In 1964, the depot was taken down and replaced with a more modern – and air-conditioned – structure composed of embossed metal panels with brick accents. The one-story building with gabled roof was sited just west of the 1901 depot, and it included a passenger waiting room, baggage room and offices for freight and passenger service employees. Interior spaces, such as the waiting room, had walls of brick laid in the then-popular stack bond – creating a grid appearance – and accents such as the ticket desk were executed in pecan wood.

The depot remained in active use by the L&N through April 30, 1971, when the Pan-American (Cincinnati-New Orleans) made its last run. With the start of Amtrak operations the following day, May 1, the new passenger rail service provider decided not to include this coastal route in its network map. This depot no longer stands but was in the general vicinity of the current Amtrak stop.

During World War II, the Army built Keesler Air Force Base (AFB), which became a major basic training site and place for technical training in aircraft and engine maintenance. Many of the soldiers arrived and departed by train. In the ensuring decades, Keesler AFB has become a major employer and has even found its way into films, including Biloxi Blues. Students from more than 50 countries have received training at Keesler. Following the war, the base became a center for teaching radar, radio and electronics maintenance and repair. The base subsequently underwent a reconstruction and expansion program.

By the 2020s, Keesler’s 81st Training Group was training more than 30,000 students annually. As a Joint Training Installation, it also welcomes personnel from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and civilian federal agencies. Instruction is offered in more than 160 field specialty training courses covering areas such as information management, air traffic control, weather and radio operations.

Keesler’s 81st Medical Group operates one of the largest Air Force medical facilities while the 81st Mission Support Group provides administrative, personnel, civil engineering and other services to those who use base facilities and resources. The base is also home to the Second Air Force, which manages operational aspects of nearly 2,700 active training courses taught to approximately 150,000 students annually; the 403rd Wing, the only Air Force Reserve Command wing in Mississippi; and the 85th Engineering Installation Squadron, of the 688th Cyberspace Wing.

Following the destruction of Hurricane Katrina, the city worked to rebuild its waterfront and downtown areas. One project was the construction of the new Biloxi Visitors Center, which opened in 2011 north of the Biloxi Lighthouse. The building’s design, including two-story porches, was inspired by the mid-19th century Robinson-Maloney/Dantzler House, which stood in that area but was destroyed during Katrina. In addition to tourist info, visitors can learn about the history of the city through multi-media exhibits and find arts and crafts from local creators.

The Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum at the city’s southeastern tip, where the sound and bay meet, allows visitors to experience the city’s long relationship with the sea. One of the main attractions is the Nydia, a 30-foot wooden vessel built in Biloxi at the end of the 19th century. The museum also offers rides on replica oyster schooners for those who desire direct interaction with the waters that shaped the city.

Art lovers will enjoy a walk downtown to view more than two dozen public murals tracing the city’s past, as well as a visit to the Ohr–O’Keefe Museum of Art. A mural was unveiled on the north side of the tracks at the train station a month prior to the start of the Amtrak Mardi Gras Service. The work, by artist Julia Reyes, highlights the city’s railroad, maritime and seafood heritage. It features a locomotive, fish, oysters and figures in vibrant blues and turquoises with accents of red and golden brown.

The Ohr–O’Keefe Museum of Art campus, designed by noted architect Frank Gehry in the early 2000s, includes numerous pavilions interspersed among live oaks overlooking the Mississippi Sound. The buildings house the Pleasant Reed Interpretive Center, the Mississippi Sound Welcome Center, the City of Biloxi Center for Ceramics and galleries devoted to the ceramics of George E. Ohr, African American art and other exhibits.

Ohr, for whom the museum is in part named, was a potter who worked in New Orleans and Biloxi from the late 19th century into the early 20th century. He sourced much of his clay locally, from the banks of the Tchoutacabouffa River north of Biloxi. Although known in his time, Ohr’s work grew in popularity more than a half-century after his death, especially the more experimental, thin-walled pieces from later in his career. Their arresting shapes and glazes – as well as more sculptural forms with no glaze – are sought after by many contemporary collectors.

The Amtrak Mardi Gras Service is financed in part through funds made available by the states of Louisiana and Mississippi and the City of Mobile, Alabama.