Travel the 2,542 main-line miles of the Mississippi rail system and you’ll find economic development chugging down the track.
It might be conveyed by any of the five Class I railroads operating in the state, or by the 23 short-line (Class III) railroads from the Golden Triangle to Port Bienville that make those crucial connections for companies with business development and growth on their minds.
It would have taken 6.2 million trucks to handle the freight moved by rail in Mississippi in 2022, says the American Association of Railroads. In 2023, those rails moved out 10.9 million tons of commodities via 140,900 carloads while welcoming to the state 14.7 million tons on 159,600 carloads. Chemicals led the way going and coming, while steel products and then lumber and wood were the second- and third-highest commodities shipped by rail originating in the state.
How important are rail connections to industrial growth? Look into any number of projects around the state and the linkage resounds like two loaded railcars being coupled for their next journey. Among them:
Renewable fuel feedstock company Oleo-X in 2023 opened a renewable diesel (RD) and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) feedstock merchant pretreatment operation that employs more than 60 people at a CSX-served brownfield location that used to house a Chemours chemical facility in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Oleo-X technology widens the pool of renewable energy feedstocks by enabling the processing of low-carbon, inedible oils — including poultry fat — without blending in high-quality oils taken from the food industry.
In March 2025 the Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission announced the successful completion of the Port Bienville Railroad Storage Yard, a $6 million investment that expands the port’s railcar capacity by 33% to 610 cars.
Photo courtesy of Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission
“By choosing rail as a major supply chain partner,” said Christina Bottomley, CSX vice president of Real Estate and Industrial Development, at the facility’s May 2023 launch, “Oleo-X is supporting its vision for a sustainable planet by taking advantage of the safest, most fuel-efficient mode of land-based transportation.”
As it happens, the poultry business is driving another rail-served development in New Augusta, Mississippi, at Perry County Industrial Park, where Georgia-based Mar-Jac Poultry in November 2024 announced the construction of a new $25 million transload facility that will create 21 new jobs. The site will leverage the county’s existing rail infrastructure to transport essential feed ingredients such as grain, corn and soybean meal, the company said. Beyond the initial phase, Mar-Jac said it has outlined plans for future expansion at the site, potentially bringing additional employment opportunities and economic benefits to Perry County.
In Quitman, Mississippi, Bar Pole and Piling purchased the 40-acre site of a former Bazor Lumber Co. sawmill in spring 2023 and by June 2024 had secured a combined $10 million in federal and Mississippi New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) funding to aid in the construction of a utility pole mill thanks to Alabama-based UB Community Development, LLC, a community development partner of United Bank. The site is served by a rail spur and switch and will create 20 new jobs, in addition to supporting another 22 logging and trucking jobs across the region.
State Keeps Pace and So Do the Short Lines
Keeping the trains running on time involves keeping the infrastructure funding on time too. In November 2024, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves announced the state would invest over $110 million toward economic development, infrastructure upgrades, workforce development, tourism and conservation efforts throughout Mississippi. More than $29 million of that total is going toward the Mississippi Development Authority’s Site Development Grant program. Among the dozens of grant recipients are a number devoting the funding toward rail improvements among other infrastructure work, including Wynndale Industrial Center in Hinds County; East Bank Port in Lowndes County; and the Project Seaway Rail Truck (SRT) Bulkhead intermodal transload site in Harrison County.
In April 2024 it was announced that more than $2 million in Mississippi Department of Transportation funding would go to the Lowndes County Port and the Golden Triangle Regional Airport for long-term projects that include a $4.4 million, 6,700-ft. rail expansion into the southern part of the port’s property that will support further warehouse development.
Among the 23 short-line rail companies in Mississippi, the Grenada Railroad operated by Pinsly Railroad Company claims 228 miles — more trackage than CSX, BNSF or Norfolk Southern have in the state. The stretch operated by Grenada, which runs along the I-55 corridor between Memphis and Canton, Mississippi, reopened in August 2023 years after nearly being abandoned. Local, state and federal support and funds helped drive the comeback of a route with no fewer than 11 industrial parks or transload sites along the way.
In October 2024 that support continued as the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation announced that Grenada Railroad (GRYR) will receive $18.2 million from the federal Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement (CRISI) grant awards for GRYR’s Central Mississippi Rail Resiliency and Capacity Expansion Project.
“This new grant will fund the upgrading and modernizing of our rail line from Canton, Mississippi, to Southaven, Mississippi, on the Mississippi-Tennessee border, and significantly increase capacity to support the rapid growth of industrial development in central Mississippi,” said Ryan Ratledge, CEO of Pinsly. “The increased volumes from these new facilities along with truck-to-rail conversions has created a need for additional capacity and long-term infrastructure enhancements to ensure uninterrupted service linking the region to national and global markets.”
In March 2025 the Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission announced the successful completion of the Port Bienville Railroad Storage Yard, a $6 million investment funded by the Maritime Administration’s Port Infrastructure Development Program. The project expanded the existing rail line with the addition of a rail sidetrack and storage yard track ladders, increasing the port’s capacity by 150 car spaces to a total of 610 cars. This expansion involves 12,173 square feet of additional storage track, nine turnouts, 6,087 steel ties and 9,739 tons of ballast, the port said.
“After recommendations for expanded railcar capacity for nearly 15 years, we are glad Port Bienville can offer this additional capacity for our tenants, strengthening each site’s ability to stabilize the supply chain and increase production,” said Blaine LaFontaine, executive director of the Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission.
Also in March, Gov. Reeves announced a new $12.8 million initiative to upgrade the Yellow Creek State Inland Port in Iuka, Mississippi, enhancing multimodal commerce along the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. Part of the plan is the installation of four new mooring cells and essential rail modifications to streamline intermodal transfers across water, rail and truck networks.
“By investing in our port infrastructure, we are setting the stage for a new era of economic transformation in Mississippi and the entire Appalachian Region,” Gov. Reeves said. “This project exemplifies our commitment to creating resilient, future-ready infrastructure that drives job growth and attracts new investment.”
