The North Central Mississippi Regional Railroad Authority (NCMRRA) announced last week that it has completed the acquisition of the Grenada Railway, LLC. (GRYR) and all of the assets of the Grenada Line, extending between milepost 403.0 in Southaven and milepost 703.8 near Canton and the Water Valley Branch (10.42 miles) located between milepost 604.0 at Water Valley Junction and Milepost 614.42 at Bruce Junction (Coffeeville). The Grenada line runs through Panola County.

The authority also announced the signing of a 15 year lease operating agreement with a subsidiary of Iowa

Pacific Holdings, one of the largest short line operators in the Country, to operate and develop new businesses on the line.

The new operator, who will continue to do business under the name Grenada Railway LLC, took over operations at 12:01 a.m. on July 29.

The new operator is working closely with the rail authority and customers along the line to accomplish a smooth transition. No interruption of service is expected and customers are advised to continue planning and requesting rail service as they normally do.

The NCMRRA was created in 2011 by representatives from the counties of Tate, Panola, Yalobusha, Grenada, Montgomery, Carroll, and Holmes Counties with the objective of protecting long term rail service in the region.

The Grenada line is one of few short lines that has the capacity to provide direct access to all five class I railroads in the country, and to the Gulf of Mexico, through its connections with CN in both Memphis and Canton.