Experts say Columbus & Greenville rail line should reopen

Restoration of the Columbus and Greenville Railway line in Mississippi could have far-reaching and long-lasting results, not just for the areas it touches directly but also for the entire nation, the Commercial Dispatch reports. As freight volumes and fuel costs increase, shippers will move toward rail and barge, prompting more rail activity.

"A
lot of freight movers are trying to switch from truck to rail," said Jody
Holland, postdoctoral associate at Mississippi State University’s Geosystems
Research Institute. And should a natural disaster or national emergency call
for rerouting the rail system, the C&G corridor would be a natural
alternative.

Holland
presented the findings of the most recent study looking at the potential of
reopening the railway, last week at the Mississippi Association of Political
Science’s annual convention, held at Mississippi University for Women.

The study
looked at three different aspects of reopening the rail, which closed 10 years
ago because of poor conditions: transportation cost benefits, workforce and
economic impact, focusing on Washington, Sunflower, Leflore, Carroll,
Montgomery, Webster, Oktibbeha, Clay and Lowndes counties. Researchers
conducted interviews in the nine counties to find out how they would use the
rail if it were restored.

"Businesses
want choices," Holland said. "It hinders industrial development
because industry won’t move in because they need (the rail)."

Fifty-six
businesses were surveyed in throughout the nine counties.

"All
nine counties are classified as distressed counties," Holland said, noting
each county reported a decline in production operations, economic development
and production jobs.

A
simulation showed particular benefits for the grain mills, biofuels, steel and
automaker industries. Holland offered Severstal Columbus and its on-site
partners and the Toyota plant being built in Blue Springs as businesses with
potential to benefit from restoration of the rail line.

"Our
farmers and industry that produce those raw materials can’t get it to Atlanta
to the refineries," he said.

Estimates
show that, in the steel industry, restoring the rail would create 240 direct
jobs, 450 indirect jobs, a $32-million increase in annual personal income and a
$2-million increase in yearly state tax collections.

A biofuels
company has expressed interest in locating a $53-million facility in Winona,
Miss., creating 20 direct jobs, 150 indirect jobs, an $8-million increase in
annual personal income and $500,000 in yearly state tax collections.

In the
steel industry, restoration would create 300 direct jobs, 750 indirect jobs and
a $50 million increase in personal income. The impact predicted for the state
as a whole is 2,000 direct jobs, $240 million in personal income, 3,210
indirect jobs and a $15-million increase in yearly state tax collections.

Holland
mentioned the possibility of creating a bridge over the Mississippi river and
connecting to rail in Arkansas.

The Panama
Canal will expand, Sal Nobrega added, noting the rail could offer a corridor to
Mexico. The C&G line also could offer some relief to Memphis.

"Memphis
is a huge rail hub, but it’s saturated. There’s no room to grow," said
Nobrega, assistant research professor at GRI.

Research
shows the rail revitalization project "could be a catalyst for economic
development," Holland said. The project is estimated to cost $99 million
and will have little to no environmental impact.

"The
corridor’s already there," Holland explained. "We just need to
revitalize it."

The state
Legislature, in April, pledged $15 million in matching funds for the project,
but the $15 million is hinged on all other funding being secured. GRI
researchers suggest the North Central Mississippi Railroad Authority secure the
state and federal funding needed to move forward with the project, seeing it as
an invaluable investment.

"In
the modern transportation system, people forget about rail, but rail is at the
center of modern transportation," Nobrega said.

Cities, he
reminded fellow attendees, grew around rail centers connecting trade routes.