Amtrak makes first Ocean Springs stop since 1965 for Peter Anderson Festival

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (WLOX) — A temporary Amtrak stop for the Peter Anderson Festival marked the first time a passenger train has stopped in Ocean Springs since 1965.

Thousands of people filled downtown Ocean Springs for the 48th annual festival, one of the state’s biggest. For hundreds of festivalgoers, the stop offered a new way to get there.

First passenger stop in decades Ocean Springs officials popped confetti as riders stepped off the train. In all, 175 people got off the train in the heart of the festivities.

Jessi Zuppardo and her family came from New Orleans.

“You can’t compare to the convenience of it all,” Zuppardo said. “We didn’t have to think about it. We just showed up at Amtrak, bought our tickets ahead of time and just rode here.”

“We love coming back and seeing all the art and the crafts and all the new things that they have every year,” Zuppardo said.

City and rail officials push for stop Ocean Springs Mayor Bobby Cox rode the train to the festival Saturday morning. The city and the Chamber of Commerce pushed for the special stop for the biggest tourism event of the year.

“The ones that didn’t get off the train, when they look down the street and saw what was going on, they wish they would’ve gotten off the train right here in Ocean Springs,” Cox said.

Southern Rail Commission Chairman Knox Ross supported securing the stop. Even with two weeks to promote it, Ross said he sees it as a success.

“It’s something that we committed to try to do, and we thought it would be very, very exciting and create more uplift for one of the best festivals in the country,” Ross said.

Mayor wants more stops Cox said he would like Amtrak to stop for the festival every year, and for other events as well.

“Next year, I’ll guarantee you there will be a lot more getting off that train, and we’re gonna ask for maybe some more stops,” Cox said. “I don’t know that we can be successful and get a permanent stop by next year, but I think we might be able to get maybe Cruisin’ the Coast or some of the other festivals.”

Four trains stopped in Ocean Springs for the festival.

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Amtrak makes first Ocean Springs stop since 1965 for Peter Anderson Festival

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