Amtrak Crescent day trip to Meridian
Taking an Amtrak Crescent day trip to Meridian, Mississippi is possible as Amtrak’s Crescent schedule provides a great opportunity for passenger rail fans to experience one of Amtrak’s premier long-distance passenger trains on a day trip originating at New Orleans and traveling northeast to Meridian, Miss., and return. This daytrip begins at New Orleans’ Union Passenger Terminal at 1001 Loyola Avenue. The eastbound Crescent No. 20 originates here and is scheduled to depart at 9:15 a.m. local time.
Today’s Union Passenger Terminal’s origins date back to the early 1950s when the terminal opened to consolidate the city’s passenger rail operations hosted by several different freight railroads, such as the Southern Railway, Louisville & Nashville, Kansas City Southern, and Illinois Central, among others. Today the terminal remains an important hub for Amtrak, serving the passenger railroad’s City of New Orleans, Crescent, and Sunset Limited trains. Amtrak maintains a servicing and layover facility near the terminal as well, as each of three long distance Amtrak trains servicing the terminal terminate in New Orleans. The terminal also connects to the city’s Rampart-St. Claude Streetcar Line.
After leaving downtown New Orleans, the Crescent begins a predominantly northeastern route, following alongside Lake Pontchartrain, tracing the former New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad, which was absorbed into the Southern Railway in the late 1960s and, later, part of the Norfolk Southern. The Crescent follows this NS route for about an hour before stopping at the city-owned Old Towne Railroad Depot in Slidell, La. The two-story brick building was built in 1903 for the NO&NE Railroad. Slidell is the Crescent’s only stop in Louisiana before crossing into Mississippi and serving the small town of Picayune, Miss., and the town’s relatively new station that opened in 2008.
From here, the Crescent continues through small Mississippi communities for a little more than an hour until stopping at Hattiesburg, Miss., where the city’s New Orleans & Northeastern Passenger Depot still stands. When on time, the Crescent is due into Hattiesburg at 11:45 a.m. local time. And after Hattiesburg, the Crescent resumes track speed on the final two-hour jaunt to Meridian, briefly stopping at Laurel, Miss., before arriving at Meridian, Miss., at 1:32 p.m. local time when on schedule.
Meridian benefits from a Union Station that was renovated in 1997 after a wave of federal funding allowed for more than $5 million in federal and state grants. While today’s only train to serve Meridian is the Crescent, the city embraces a storied rail history dating back to the Mobile & Ohio Railroad and several other fallen flag railroads that provided service to the city. After stepping off the Crescent in downtown Meridian, passengers have a few options for the afternoon layover, which is typically around two and a half hours before westbound Crescent No. 19 is due to arrive at 4:13 p.m. local time.
Several restaurants are within a block of Union Station, including Weidmann’s and the Brickhaus Bar & Grill offer great lunch stops. Passengers should also visit the Meridian Railroad Museum housed in the city’s former freight station and Railway Express Agency building. The museum is another great place to safely watch freight trains barreling along what is referred to as the Meridian Speedway. These options make great layover activities as you wait for the Crescent’s westbound counterpart. After boarding the westbound train to New Orleans, you can expect a train ride just under five hours as No. 19 is scheduled to return to New Orleans at 9:02 p.m. local time when on schedule.
Tips & Recommendations:
• The Crescent is not a daily train currently and has been on an abbreviated schedule since the COVID-19 pandemic. Its eastbound segment, No. 20 departs New Orleans on Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and the westbound segment No. 19, serves Meridian on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, meaning a daytrip getaway is currently only available on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
• You may want to consider rescheduling your trip on the Crescent if the westbound No. 19 is significantly delayed, as this may result in a longer-than-normal layover in Meridian. Make sure both trains are punctual for the most ideal daytrip experience.
