By John Howell Sr.

Panola Partnership CEO Sonny Simmons told Batesville city officials that there may yet be a need to form a rail authority to guard against track abandonment.

Simmons’ remarks came during the November 15 meeting of the mayor and aldermen when he returned to provide an update on the decision by Grenada Railway, LLC to withdraw its petition to abandon 80 miles of rail between Grenada and Canton. The rail company had initially pursued a process of expedited abandonment that would have allowed the track to be dismantled and sold for scrap without a public hearing.

Public outcry and political pressure prompted the rail line to withdraw its petition for abandonment, Simmons said.

After telling the Panola County Board of Supervisors on Monday that formation of the rail authority should be postponed, he told city officials on Tuesday further research had revealed that if a company does not use the track at all for two years, they can abandon it without a hearing, he added.

“How do you fight that?” Alderman Stan Harrison asked.

“Formation of a rail authority,” Simmons replied. He said that the company had not used the line in six months, which could mean that only 18 months remains until the track can be abandoned without a hearing.

“Do they have to maintain it?” Alderman Eddie Nabors asked.

“My understanding is they don’t have to do anything,” Simmons said.

The Partnership CEO said that during the Surface Transportation Board’s period of seeking comments about the abandonment, two operators of short line railroads had submitted statements indicating they “may have a real interest in buying and operating in a legitimate fashion.”

The portion of the line that Grenada Railway had sought to abandon is the south segment of the old Illinois Central’s Grenada route connecting Memphis and Jackson. Officials of economic development and government were concerned that its abandonment would be followed by abandonment of the segment of the line from Grenada north.

In other Panola Partnership news, Simmons urged city officials to attend TVA-sponsored “Economic Development 101” education program on December 8.

“We think it’s extremely important for all our elected officials to attend this,” he said.

TVA economic development specialist Christy Brown will conduct the seminar starting at 10 a.m. at the Panola Country Club, followed by lunch.

Simmons also said that the Partnership has recently conducted focus groups with people under 30 and over 30. “It went extremely well,” he said, with participants “giving us ideas.”