EUPORA — As Cynthia Wilson walks along a stretch of Columbus and Greenville Railway line, she points ahead to a section of track not far from the main drag in downtown Eupora.

Much of it is overgrown, surrounded by weeds, and barely visible beneath a carpet of tall grass and shrubs. The growth gets thicker as the tracks head out of town.

“A lot of the line is like that,” Wilson said, her eyes stuck on the overgrown track. “A lot of it is in pretty bad shape.”

For Wilson, who serves as chairman of the North Central Mississippi Regional Railroad Authority, the condition of the track is no surprise.

The C&G hasn’t operated between West Point and Greenville since 2001, when the track was taken out of service because of its poor condition. The stretch has since fallen further into disrepair, with growth popping up all along the 90-mile section of track.

An effort is under way, however, to replace the aging line and to bring C&G rail service back to the north-central part of the state.

The state House of Representatives last month passed a bill to award the Railroad Authority $14 million for the project, though estimates have shown it could cost anywhere from $60 million to $80 million, if not more. The Senate still needs to pass the bill before the Railroad Authority receives the money. If the Senate does pass it, the Railroad Authority hopes it would be combined with federal funds and other moneys for the project.

“We realize $14 million is not enough to get the whole thing done, but it’s enough to show we have the state’s support when we’re applying for federal funds,” Wilson said.

A place in history

The tracks were built in the 1800s, but have changed hands several times over the past century. In the meantime, towns along the route have risen and fallen, Wilson said.

In Webster County, for instance, the county seat is Walthall, but Eupora has the largest population. A reason for that is because the C&G line passes through Eupora, and a depot was built there, she said.

The C&G line primarily was used to transport freight, such as agricultural products and manufacturing equipment, and hasn’t been used for passenger service since the 1940s or early 1950s, Wilson said.

C&G began operations in 1975 as a carrier between Columbus and Greenville. Then in 1985, a wholly-owned subsidiary of C&G, Delta Transportation Co., was formed for the purpose of acquiring approximately 63 miles of track contiguous and connecting with the C&G’s existing line in the Mississippi Delta.

In September 1995, Delta merged with C&G. After the merger, Delta was dissolved.

The Railway continued to operate until 2001, when flooding wiped out a bridge in Carroll County. The line between West Point and Greenville subsequently was shut down.

Talks began in 2005 to rehabilitate the railroad, including the replacement of track, bridges and trestles. A feasibility study also determined the project could be done.

Now the Railroad Authority wants to bring the track up to “today’s standards,” Wilson said, for the good of the region.

Economic impact

Since the track has been closed, towns and businesses – including Prestage Farms in West Point – have suffered as they attempt to transport products by other means, Wilson said.

The rail’s closure also could potentially dissuade larger manufacturing operations from setting up shop in counties along the line, she said.

“We’re missing out on a lot of good opportunities because we don’t have rail service,” Wilson said.

If the line were to reopen, it would benefit companies already in existence, like Severstal and other manufacturers, she said. But it would also help farmers in the Mississippi Delta who would use the line to transport their products.

“A lot of these small towns, like Eupora and Maben, they grew up around the railroad and they know how important it is for their economic development,” Wilson said. “We’ve had a lot of support from a lot of county supervisors along the line because they realize the economic impact. We just hope we can get this done.”

If the Senate passes the bill to award the Railroad Authority $14 million, at least a portion of the funds would be used for an engineering study to determine the exact cost and scope of the project. Work on the line then could begin “very quickly,” Wilson said.

Attempts to reach C&G Railway chief Roger Bell were unsuccessful.

The Railroad Authority also is pushing for a railroad bridge over the Mississippi River.