Construction issues in Mobile have pushed back the launch date for the new Amtrak Mardi Gras Service, a revived route between New Orleans and Mobile that was originally set to debut in June .

Knox Ross, the chairman of the Southern Rail Commission, confirmed that the train service is now expected to begin in late July or early August. An exact date has not been determined yet, though Ross said it should be announced this month.

"The dates have always been sort of fluid," he noted. "They're aspirational ... In Mobile, you're dealing with a several hundred year old city, and you never know what you're going to pick up."

The service will offer passengers two trains — one in New Orleans and the other in Mobile — that will depart in the morning. Both will make four stops in Mississippi, in

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