(The Grenada Daily Star posted the following column by Joe Lee III on its website on March 28.)
GRENADA, Miss. — Three dozen state legislators, state transportation officials, and interested citizens met yesterday at the state capitol building to discuss the future of Grenada’s railroad tracks.
While the meeting did not accomplish anything, it served as a venting mechanism for the frustration of state and local interests concerning reports that Canadian National Railway, successor to the Illinois Central Railroad in Mississippi, may shut down the “Grenada Line” track from Canton to Memphis and a segment of track between Natchez and Brookhaven.
Wayne King, General Manager of CNR/IC said that rumors of the line closings were just that: “rumors,” but he offered no encouragement for those wanting to hear him say that all is well concerning Mississippi’s eastern north-south artery.
“As long as the Grenada District’s major customer in Natchez (International Paper) is still open we’ll continue to serve them,” he said. (IP has announced it may close all or part of its operation this year.)
King said nothing has been decided in connection with the future of the Grenada Line, but that options included abandonment, leasing it to a third party, or leaving it as it is. The group informally discussed other options including some kind of a state partnership to keep the line open.
Even as King was pushed by economic developers who said they needed to know something to tell potential industries, King would not confirm the future of the line.
“We want to keep you informed,” King said. “We have the opportunity to work together. Nobody is pulling up track. There is still time to talk.”
In recent years NCR has apparently spent little money keeping the Grenada Line between Jackson and Memphis in shape. The Montreal based railroad company, however, appears to have invested heavily in the north-south Delta Line some 30 miles west of Grenada.
There are reportedly some parts of the Grenada Line which have 10-mph restrictions because of the condition of the track.
Some legislators have suggested passing a law allowing the state to take control of the track via eminent domain. Eminent domain, i.e., seizing the tracks, is probably the best course. (If it is legal to use eminent domain to seize property to build an automobile plant, one would assume it is legal to use the same procedure to confiscate a railroad track.)
Nothing at yesterday meeting indicated a bright future for the Grenada Line under the present set-up and if the state does nothing to protect the trackage, there is no assurance that it will not be abandoned.
It is customary in the railroad business to cut the connections to other lines before abandoning trackage in order to make sure any potential third party operator cannot connect with competitive railroads, i.e., any company leasing or taking over the track would have to use the former owner as a connector line.
If the line stays intact, it connects with five lines in Memphis and two in Jackson. This makes the line attractive to another operator. Kansas City Southern, for example is already in Jackson and this line could connect it directly to Memphis.
It appears that the state’s best economic bet at this point is to seize the tracks intact and let them out to bid.
Inaction will almost certainly lead to a rail disaster which will lead to an industrial recruitment disaster for the heart of north Mississippi.