While a section of rail line to the Linbrook Business Parkappears safe, the continued existence of the rest of the trackbetween Brookhaven and Natchez should be a concern for areaeconomic development officials.

Several state lawmakers and industrial recruiters are worriedthat Canadian National’s pending sale of 252 miles of track in thestate to Natchez Railway LLC and Grenada Railway LLC – affiliatesof Salt Lake City’s A&K Railroad Materials, Inc., a railroadsalvage company – could result in the lines being scrapped at theend of a two-year maintenance agreement in the contract. Staterepresentatives recently passed resolutions Friday urging theSurface Transportation Board to not approve the deal unless therewere guarantees of continued operations.

A CN spokesman last week said an approximately three-milestretch of track between Linbrook and the main north-south linethrough Brookhaven is not part of the sale. That fact shouldalleviate some fears about industry recruitment attractivenessshould Linbrook lose rail access.

But there is still the matter of east-west access beyondLinbrook to a railcar business in Bude and to a river port inNatchez.

The loss of the rail line could cause Bude in Franklin County tolose American Railcar Industries and the 89 jobs, which are filledby workers from across the area, the company provides. Whether thebusiness could be relocated elsewhere in the area is unknown.

Rail access may not be a major factor in industry recruitmentthat it once was, but the lack of it would a check in the wrongcolumn on the economic development ledger. And with anever-changing economy, rail cars could return to their previousprominence in the world of shipping and delivery.

For those reasons, the situation surrounding the pending railline sale bears close scrutiny.