Railroad acquisition a boon to development in DeSoto

901-333-2019

DeSoto County economic development officials are applauding a railroad acquisition that they say was critical to development in the region.

The North Central Mississippi Regional Railroad Authority has completed a deal to acquire the Grenada Railway LLC and all of its assets, covering about 200 miles between Southaven south to near Canton, Miss. The deal also includes the shorter Water Valley Branch of the rail line, a 10.4-mile segment running between Water Valley and Coffeeville.

Mississippi legislators approved a $30 million bond bill last year to help the Railroad Authority buy the line.

“This is critically important infrastructure for the economy of our region,” Jim Flanagan, president and CEO of the DeSoto County Economic Development Council, said Thursday. “The current and future users of this line will benefit from this railroad.”

The Railroad Authority, as the new owner, will continue to operate the line under the name Grenada Railway LLC. The transaction was completed July 29, but operators have been working with customers along the line since to assure a smooth transition. There has been no service interruption.

Representatives of Tate, Panola, Yalobusha, Grenada, Montgomery, Carroll and Holmes counties created the Railroad Authority in 2011 to help protect long-term rail service in the region. The Grenada line is one of the few short lines with the capacity to provide direct access to all five of the nation’s Class I railroads and to the Gulf of Mexico. It connects with CN Railroad in Memphis and in Canton.

Grenada Railway, a subsidiary of V&S Railway of Utah, filed to abandon the rail a couple of years ago. It had tried to abandon the line previously.

An 86-mile segment running between Grenada and Canton has not had service since the first attempt to abandon the line in 2011.

Flanagan said rail is “another mode of transportation that attracts companies to DeSoto County.