MERIDIAN, Miss. (Queen City Newsfeed) The CPKC Holiday Train will stop in Meridian for the first time on Tuesday, Dec. 1. Country singers Chase Rice and Madeline Edwards will put on a free show from 4:15 to 4:45 p.m. The stop will raise money and collect food for local families in need.
The show will take place in the park next to the Meridian Railroad Museum and Union Station. The address is 1805 Front Street.
Meridian is one of 10 new stops on the train’s 2026 tour. CPKC announced the tour on Oct. 13.
What is the Holiday Train?
The Holiday Train is a long train covered in bright holiday lights. It belongs to Canadian Pacific Kansas City, the railroad known as CPKC.
At each stop, the train pulls up in front of the crowd. Then a door on one car drops down to make a stage. After that, the band plays a short concert. Local food bank leaders also speak to the crowd, according to CPKC.
The show is free. However, CPKC asks people to bring cash or canned and boxed food if they can. Food bank workers will collect gifts at the event. Every gift stays in the town where it is given.
The train does not give public rides.
Why this stop matters
The tour aims to help families who do not always have enough food to eat. This problem is called food insecurity.
“This year, we are going farther south than we ever have before, visiting 10 communities in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri for the first time,” CPKC President and CEO Keith Creel said in a press release.
The new stops include Meridian, Jackson and Vicksburg in Mississippi, Trains magazine reported.
Since 1999, the Holiday Train has raised more than $28.3 million for food banks in the United States and Canada. It has also collected more than 5.6 million pounds of food, according to CPKC.
Not the same as the Holiday Express
You may remember a holiday train at Union Station before. That was the CPKC Holiday Express, a different train. It brought Santa and his elves to Meridian in 2023 and 2024. Visitors could walk through its decorated cars.
The Holiday Train is the railroad’s concert train. Until now, it had never stopped in Meridian.
Mississippi train schedule
Chase Rice and Madeline Edwards will perform at all three Mississippi stops.
Meridian: Tuesday, Dec. 1, from 4:15 to 4:45 p.m. The train will stop at 1805 Front Street. That is the park next to the Meridian Railroad Museum and Union Station.
Jackson: Tuesday, Dec. 1, from 7:30 to 8 p.m. The train will stop at 360 Industrial Park Drive. That is the old Jackson intermodal yard.
Vicksburg: Wednesday, Dec. 2, from 2:45 to 3:15 p.m. The train will stop at 1001 Levee Street at Grove Street. That is next to the Old Depot Museum.
Tips if you go
Each show lasts only about 30 minutes. So plan to get there early.
Past holiday train stops in Meridian drew thousands of people.
Bring cash or canned and boxed food to give.
Stay at least 50 feet back from the tracks. Also, CPKC says never to stand on the tracks or the rocks beside them for photos.
Watch out for fake accounts. CPKC warns that scammers sometimes pretend to be the Holiday Train online. All Holiday Train events are free, so do not pay anyone for a ticket.
Can’t make it? You can still help. CPKC says you can give to any food bank or food pantry in your town.
For updates, visit the CPKC Holiday Train website.