The MidSouth Rail Corporation is a former railroad line that is currently operated by Kansas City Southern Railway

Kansas City Southern Railway

The Kansas City Southern Railway , owned by Kansas City Southern Industries, is the smallest and second-oldest Class I railroad company still in operation. KCS was founded in 1887 and is currently operating in a region consisting of ten central U.S. states...

 (KCS) as a result of the January 1, 1994, acquisition; KCS began operating over MidSouth's line on January 11, 1994. The line ran from Shreveport, Louisiana

Shreveport, Louisiana

Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....

, going east across Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

, and across the state of Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

, running through the cities of Vicksburg

Vicksburg, Mississippi

Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...

, Jackson

Jackson, Mississippi

Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...

, Meridian

Meridian, Mississippi

Meridian is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi. It is the sixth largest city in the state and the principal city of the Meridian, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area...

, and Artesia, Mississippi

Artesia, Mississippi

Artesia is a town in Lowndes County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 498 at the 2000 census.-History:Artesia was originally Artesia Junction, a junction point on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. During the railroad's construction in the 1850s, an offer was made to the towns of Columbus...

, then across the Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

 state line to Tuscaloosa

Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Tuscaloosa is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west central Alabama . Located on the Black Warrior River, it is the fifth-largest city in Alabama, with a population of 90,468 in 2010...

, and finally (via Norfolk Southern Railway

Norfolk Southern Railway

The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...

 trackage rights) into Birmingham

Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...

. Midsouth had two other branches, with one to Counce, Tennessee

Counce, Tennessee

Counce is an unincorporated community in Hardin County, Tennessee, United States. Counce is located on Tennessee State Route 57 near the Mississippi border. The community is adjacent to the Tennessee River near the Pickwick Landing Dam...

, and a disconnected line from Gulfport

Gulfport, Mississippi

Gulfport is the second largest city in Mississippi after the state capital Jackson. It is the larger of the two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. As of the...

 to Hattiesburg, Mississippi

Hattiesburg, Mississippi

Hattiesburg is a city in Forrest County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 44,779 at the 2000 census . It is the county seat of Forrest County...

. Total mileage was 1212 miles (1,950.5 km) worth of mostly former Illinois Central Gulf's east-west Shreveport - Meridian main line.

Operations

On March 31, 1986, MidSouth Rail Corp. was created to purchase 373 miles (600.3 km) of Illinois Central Gulf Railroad (ICG), with start up operations on April 1, 1986. MSRC was mostly the ex-ICG route between Meridian, Mississippi, and Shreveport, Louisiana, with this line being built in 1833 by the Clinton and Vicksburg Railroad. On September 8, 1987, MSRC acquired the North Louisiana and Gulf Railroad and its subsidiary, Central Louisiana and Gulf Railroad, These properties were combined as subsidiary MidLouisiana Rail Corporation.

On April 14, 1988, MidSouth merged with the Gulf and Mississippi Railroad

Gulf and Mississippi Railroad

The Gulf and Mississippi Railroad was the first regional railroad in the United States upon its creation in 1985. With over of track in the states of Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama it was among the largest spin-off railroads in the post-Staggers Act era. MidSouth Rail acquired the entire G&M...

, itself an ICG spinoff. MSRC operated this property under the name of SouthRail.

Kansas City Southern takeover

On January 11, 1994, Kansas City Southern Railway

Kansas City Southern Railway

The Kansas City Southern Railway , owned by Kansas City Southern Industries, is the smallest and second-oldest Class I railroad company still in operation. KCS was founded in 1887 and is currently operating in a region consisting of ten central U.S. states...

 took over operations of all of Midsouth Rail Corp.'s lines, creating its Meridian Corridor to connect with the Norfolk Southern Railway

Norfolk Southern Railway

The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...

.