The Mississippi Legislature has authorized the State Port Authority to buy the 70 mile Kansas City Southern line between Gulfport and Hattiesburg, MS. (ex-MidSouth, ex-IC, built in 1904 as the Gulf & Ship Island) No word yet if KCS wants to sell the line. The State wants to invest about $20 Million to upgrade the line from 25 mph lightweight jointed rail to 50 mph heavy welded rail. The benefit is seen as interchanging double-stack trains with CSX here in Gulfport, and with NS and CN/IC at Hattiesburg. Stay Tuned, Hank
The Gulfport, MS port has three container cranes capable of off-loading ships directly to rail. The port has two piers, 3000' & 1800', both with rail service, a 900' turning basin, and a 36' deep 12 mile long channel direct to the Gulf of Mexico. Gulfport is already the second largest banana port on the Atlantic, serving the container needs of both United Fruit and Standard Fruit. The only thing needed to become a competitive container port is to upgrade the line to Hattiesburg, giving 50 mph access to NS and CN/IC. KCS, the owner of the line, does not wish to allocate capital to upgrade because the line is isolated from the rest of the KCS system. CN/IC owns the 70 mile line from Hattiesburg to Jackson, giving trackage rights to KCS. Hank [ 11 March 2001: Message edited by: Hank Coolidge ]
