The ''Gulf Breeze'' was a daily

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...

operated by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

between

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

, as a section of the ''

Crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase (as it appears in the northern hemisphere) in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hindu iconography, Hind ...

''. Southbound, the ''Gulf Breeze'' split from the ''Crescent'' in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

to serve an additional seven stations in

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

on a route south to Mobile. The service ran from 1989 until 1995.

History

introduced the ''Gulf Breeze'' on October 27, 1989, as a section of the ''

'' (

–

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

). Costs of operation were split between Amtrak and the state, with the latter contributing about $1.3 million per year. Annual ridership in FY 1994, the last full year of operation, was 7,737. In December 1994 Amtrak announced that the ''Gulf Breeze'' would be discontinued as part of a broad cost-cutting measure which saw other services eliminated or reduced. The last ''Gulf Breeze'' ran on April 1, 1995, and was replaced by

bus service Public transport bus services are generally based on regular operation of transit buses along a route calling at agreed bus stops according to a published public transport timetable. History of buses Origins While there are indications o ...

. Later that year attempts were made under the auspices of the Southern High Speed Rail Commission to resurrect the ''Gulf Breeze'' as a Mobile–New Orleans service, sharing part of the ''

Sunset Limited The ''Sunset Limited'' is a long-distance passenger train run by Amtrak, operating on a route between New Orleans and Los Angeles. Major stops include Houston, San Antonio and El Paso in Texas, as well as Tucson, Arizona. Opening in 1894 thr ...

s route. This was eventually realized as the ''

Gulf Coast Limited The ''Gulf Coast Limited'' was a passenger train service operated by Amtrak along the Gulf Coast of the United States. It ran daily between New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, with stops in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, Bay St. Louis, Gu ...

'', a joint effort between Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana which operated 1996–1997.

Route

The ''Gulf Breeze'' split from the ''Crescent'' at Birmingham and ran south through Montgomery to Mobile on the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

, while the ''Crescent'' continued southwest through

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

to New Orleans. At the time Mobile was served also by the ''Sunset Limited'' (

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

–

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

). , Birmingham (served by the ''Crescent'') is the only ''Gulf Breeze'' station still in operation. Mobile and Atmore were served by the ''Gulf Coast Limited'' in 1996–1997, and by the ''Sunset Limited'' from 1993 to 2005. The remaining stations have not seen passenger rail service since the cancellation of the ''Gulf Breeze''. Train service will return to Mobile via the ''

Mardi Gras Service The ''Mardi Gras Service'' is a planned passenger train service to be operated by Amtrak along the Gulf Coast of the United States. The service will consist of two daily round trips between New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, with sto ...

'' in August 2025.

Station stops

References

External links

Southern High-Speed Rail Commission
{{Former Amtrak routes Former Amtrak routes Passenger rail transportation in Alabama Railway services introduced in 1989 1995 disestablishments in the United States Railway services discontinued in 1995 Former long distance Amtrak routes