(The following article by Don Hammack was posted on the Biloxi Sun-Herald website on February 1.)
BILOXI, Miss. — Railroad experts say CSX Transportation faces a monumental decision when it comes to the possible abandonment of its rail line through South Mississippi, but a local leader privy to those discussions remains optimistic.
This month has often been put forward as a decision-making month, but Anthony Topazi, co-chair of the Governor’s Commission transportation committee, said he’s expecting word by the end of the first quarter.
“They’re working hard to identify a solution that works for all parties,” he said. “They hope to be back talking with us soon.”
A CSX spokesperson said Tuesday there was no timeframe for making a decision, but if the company decides to make a change, it would be in its best interest to do so quickly.
The scope of the issue is such that another month or two wait would still qualify as a quick decision.
The line between New Orleans and Mobile is critical to CSX, says Walt Schuchmann, director of rail operations for R.L. Banks and Associates, a Washington transportation-consulting firm. It connects CSX, which has 22,000 miles of track in 23 states east of the Mississippi River and Canada, to the main western rail lines and gives them access to the Louisiana-Texas chemical industry along the coast.
He said the rail business is booming right now, thanks to huge increases in overseas container cargo, especially consumer goods from China. The trucking industry’s rising fuel costs, new driver regulations and difficulties in finding enough drivers have also made rail more attractive.
“With the railroad’s capacity crunches as they are today, I think it would be probably a strain to take all of that traffic and shift it,” said Schuchmann.
One possibility is that CSX could reroute its traffic using another carrier’s lines. Norfolk Suffolk has a line from Meridian to New Orleans, and there’s a Kansas City Southern line from Birmingham through Jackson that could be used.
The fact that Norfolk Suffolk is a major CSX competitor doesn’t rule out their working together, according to transportation analyst Tony Hatch.
“That happens all the time these days,” he said.
Hatch said the enormous capital costs incurred by railroad companies can make big competitors into big cooperators.
Hurricane Katrina pointed out one big problem with the CSX line that runs across South Mississippi.
“In the narrow world that is transportation, one of the things that’s been clear is that’s a dangerously exposed line,” he said. “It makes some sense for them to think about alternatives when you think of the enormous amounts of money you need to put into this.”
Hatch said if officials were lobbying CSX to move its traffic, they might be trying to be good corporate citizens and help renewal efforts.
“Katrina is a catalyst for these discussions because of CSX’s commitment to helping the Coast recover and because of the obvious need to resolve this question in the near-term,” Topazi said. “We’re talking about another east-west thoroughfare for traffic. We’ve got to know whether that’s viable in the near-term; we can’t wait years.”