Grenada Railway

Grenada Railway
Reporting mark GRYR
Locale Southern United States
Dates of operation 2009–
Predecessor
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length 187 mi (301 km)
Headquarters Grenada, Mississippi
Website http://www.grenadarailway.com/

The Grenada Railway (reporting mark GRYR) is a 187-mile long (301 km) shortline railroad that runs from Southaven, Mississippi to Canton, Mississippi, along former Illinois Central Railroad trackage. GRYR interchanges with the Canadian National Railway. The main commodities the railroad hauls include forestry products, scrap metal, and grain.

History

The line was originally part of Illinois Central Railroad's "Grenada District" and was mostly used by its premier passenger trains the City of New Orleans and the Panama Limited at speeds up to 100 miles per hour. The line had many hills and curves, making it unsuitable for long freight trains, which mainly used Illinois Central's "Yazoo District" several miles to the west, through the flat Mississippi Delta.

On September 10, 1995 Amtrak's City of New Orleans operated over the Grenada District for the last time. A few years later in 1998, Canadian National bought the Illinois Central Railroad and diverted more traffic over to the Yazoo District. With local freight traffic dwindling and Amtrak no longer using the route, CN sold it to V&S Railway in 2009, which formed the Grenada Railway, LLC to operate the line.

Current Operations

Grenada Railway currently operates over the 106-mile Southaven to Grenada section of the track several times per week.

The remaining 81-mile section running south from Grenada to Canton has been out of service since 2011 and is the subject of a dispute between Grenada Railway, local towns and counties along the tracks and the Surface Transportation Board. GRYR claims there is not enough traffic to justify keeping the line open, while the towns and counties bordering the tracks claim that abandoning the railroad would hurt them economically.

On July 26, 2013, the embargo that put the 81-mile section of rail out of service in 2011 expired, and was not renewed.

On December 16, 2013, Grenada Railway, LLC filed for abandonment of track from Elliott to Canton.

References