Railroad deal through the Black Belt would increase traffic but have minimal impact, feds say

Two railroads are seeking federal approval to double the train traffic from Lowndes to Marengo counties and on to Meridian, Mississippi.  

Although the deal would increase train traffic dramatically, an environmental assessment done by the Surface Transportation Board says folks along the tracks in Montgomery, Lowndes, Dallas, Wilcox, Marengo and Choctaw counties in Alabama and Lauderdale County in Mississippi will hardly know the difference.  

CSX Transportation and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited have asked the Surface Transportation Board to approve a deal that would allow the two companies to take over rail lines that would stretch from Burkville in Lowndes County to Meridian. If approved, CSXT would operate almost 94 miles of track from Burkville west to Myrtlewood in Marengo County. At Myrtlewood, CPKC would operate about 50 miles of track west to Meridian.  

“According to CSXT and CPKC, the purpose of the Proposed Transactions is to create a newEast-West Class I railroad connection at Myrtlewood that, along with the infrastructureupgrades planned by CSXT and CPKC, could provide a more efficient route for existing andfuture traffic moving between the eastern and southeastern United States and thesouthwestern United States and Mexico,” the environmental assessment says.  

“On the Eastern Line (from Burkville to Myrtlewood), CSXT expects that existing eastbound and westbound through service (i.e., two trains, one moving in each direction) would increase from five days per week to seven days per week,” the report says. “On the Western Line (from Mytrlewood to Meridian), CPKC anticipates adding one new roundtrip train per day, seven days per week (i.e., two new trains per day, one moving eastbound and the other westbound). In addition, on some segments the length of the trains would increase.As measured in gross ton miles (GTM), the increase would exceed 100 percent on all segments if both transactions are authorized.” 

The environmental assessment estimates that while the proposed deal would increase traffic by 100%, residents along the line won’t be delayed because the trains will travel faster, so they will not block crossings much longer than they do now. Increases in noise and pollution would also be negligible compared to what is experienced now, according to the 101-page assessment.  

Because moving goods by rail is more fuel efficient than by using trucks, moving freight on the railway would save energy, the report states.  

The environmental assessment is advertised in a legal notice in the Selma Sun. The notice is designed to give the public a chance to comment on the proposal and its impact. Directions on how to see the proposal are explained in the notice.