JACKSON, Miss. — The recent completion of $2.4 million in up-grades to the Columbus and Greenville Railway was timely for Fishbelt Feeds Inc. of Moorhead, the Clarion Ledger reported.
A 40-mile segment of the track from Greenwood to Heathman, near Indianola, has received a major upgrade that accommodates rail cars weighing up to 286,000 pounds, an increase of more than 42,000 pounds or 15 percent above the segment’s prior capacity.
And train speed, once limited to 10 miles per hour, has increased to 25 miles per hour.
They are changes greatly benefiting Fishbelt Foods, which has come to need heavier rail cars shipping in ingredients they use to make catfish food, since many suppliers in the Delta region have shut down, said Bob Harris, general manager.
“Right now, it’s very necessary. We had ADM (Archer Daniels Midland) to close the processing plant, therefore the availability of trucked soybean meal has been narrowed,” Harris said.
In 1997, Fishbelt used about 30 loads of ingredients shipped via rail. This year, it’s predicted they’ll use 750 loads. In 2003, the company will probably add another 1,000 rail car shipments to bring in ingredients from Missouri.
From March through November each year, Fishbelt receives an average of six rail cars daily, six-days a week, Harris said. The company recently invested $250,000 for an additional rail spur, he said.
“I’d say this year probably 90 percent of the soybean meal comes from Illinois and Iowa,” Harris said.
Canadian National Railway was banking on increased rail usage when it financed the project, its president and CEO Paul M. Tellier said in a prepared statement. From the Delta, trains can tie in to other CN rail lines in Memphis.
The upgrade included installing 23,000 crossties, removing joints in the track by making a continuous weld, upgrading 54 road crossings and applying 75,000 tons of rock and gravel, said Roger Bell, president of Columbus and Greenville Railway.
A second phase will include strengthening 10 additional bridges to 286,000-pound capacity, installing 15,000 more crossties, upgrading other road crossings and other rail improvements. That work should be completed by next year.
In the largely agricultural region, the railway gives the ability to haul heavy loads for long distances at decent prices, Bell said.
“A lot of ag products — corn, rice, most all of the grains — will run the much heavier weights,” Bell said. “What this really does is it gives a much safer operation because of the dramatically improved infrastructure. Also, it gives our customers the opportunity to move their products much faster.”
Officials said up to 8,000 rail cars annually travel the line between Greenwood and Indianola, with about 25 percent of them being in the 286,000 pound range.