‘Amtrak Joe’ and ‘Mayor Pete’: New administration vows Gulf Coast visit Updated Jan 27, 2021; Posted Jan 27, 2021 An Amtrak inspection train, filled with government and rail transportation officials and media, arrives in Mobile, Ala., on Thursday Feb. 18, 2016. The trip marked the first time in more than 10 years a passenger train has left New Orleans headed east to Florida. (file photo) Facebook Share President Joe Biden took thousands of train trips between his Delaware home and Washington, D.C., when he was in the Senate, earning him the title “Amtrak Joe.” Pete Buttigieg, the incoming U.S. transportation secretary, who earned the nickname “Mayor Pete” during last year’s presidential contest, advocated for improved passenger rail service as mayor of South Bend, Indiana.