Canadian National, owner of the rail lines which run through Tate County, revealed last week plans to sell those lines to two smaller companies.
In letters to members of the Mississippi legislature, Jim Vena, senior vice president for the southern region, said that the Grenada Line (which runs from the Mississippi/Tennessee border to Canton) and the Natchez Line (which runs between Brookhaven to Natchez) were up for sale to Grenada Railway, LLC, and Natchez Railway, LLC.
"At present, traffic volumes on these lines are very low," Vena wrote, "Rather than seek approval from the Surface Transportation Board to abandon these lines, CN instead has chosen to preserve rail service by selling these two lines. to Grenada Railway, LLC and Natchez Railway, LLC."
The sale agreements will have to be approved by the STB.
According to CN, the two companies are non-carrier afflilates of V&S Railway, a short-line operator, and A&K Railroad Materials, a railroad salvage company. The purchasers were chosen through a bid process last year.
Officials declined to reveal the purchase price.
Locally, the rail cars stop in Coldwater, as well as at the railroad spur in the Senatobia Industrial Park, which is utilized by Carlisle Syntec.
Company officials with Carlisle Syntec said that rail service is crucial to their operation here.
"Carlisle Syntec, Inc., currently employs approximately 100 people in our Senatobia facility," the company said in a statement. "Eight to eighty five percent of our raw materials are delivered via rail. As a company, we are looking to expand. This will increase our need for dependable rail service."
When first contacted about the sale, neither Tate County Economic Development Foundation Executive Director Janie Mortimer nor Senatobia Mayor Alan Callicott were aware of the action.
According to CN, one condition of the sale is for the purchasers to make "reasonable efforts to sustain and increase traffic on the Grenada and Natchez Lines." They also must agree to not abandon operations on the lines for at least the next two years.
CN will continue to operate on the Yazoo Line, which is their main line in the state and the line on which Amtrak runs. The City of New Orleans train was moved off the Grenada line to the Delta Line in September 1995.
Local leaders stressed the importance of rail service to the area's economic health.
"I hope that the sale of the CN railroad line through Senatobia will turn out to be a positive event," said Senatobia Mayor Alan Callicott. "We have industries in Senatobia and Tate County who rely on the railroad every day, and rail access is a plus for our community when it comes to industrial development."
Tate County Economic Development Foundation Executive Director Janie Mortimer said, "Rail service is an asset to the community in economic development. We look forward to working with the new owners of this rail line to ensure that our current industries will continue to have a high level of service."
CN says they remain "committed" to serving their customers in Mississippi.
The new railroad that is trying to buy this line is owned by A&K Railroad Materials. The A&K is a railroad salvage company. The A&K sees Senatobia's rail line as inventory and care nothing about serving Senatobia's rail customers. Our government officials should see to it that the A&K Railroad does not get this rail line. If they do get it, you can expect them to make at least an attempt to abandon the track when the two years are up or maybe even before then. Once a rail line is gone, it won't ever be back.
