CN completed agreements to sell three Mississippi line segments to Grenada Railway, LLC and Natchez Railway, LLC, both non-carrier affiliates of V&S Railway and A&K Railroad Materials. Terms were not disclosed.
The deal transfers ownership of 252 miles of track and preserves rail service on the two longest of these rail lines for at least the next two years. The transaction involves the former CN Grenada subdivision, the Water Valley Branch Line and the former CN Natchez subdivision. The Grenada line runs 175 miles from the Mississippi/Tennessee border to approximately two miles north of Canton, Miss. The 11-mile Water Valley Branch Line intersects the Grenada Line at W.V. Junction and extends to Coffeeville, Miss. The 66-mile Natchez branch runs from Brookhaven to Natchez, Miss.
CN said it is pleased the deal will allow these rail lines to remain in place and serve Mississippi businesses, and it will continue to offer interchange service to the new short lines.
V&S Railway operates several short lines in Kansas and Colorado.