The Alabama Southern Railroad is a class III railroad that operates in the southern United States. The ABS is one of several short line railroads owned by Watco. The railroad operates an 85 mi line leased from the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC). It began operating in 2005.

History

The railroad began operating on November 20, 2005 on lines leased from the Kansas City Southern Railway. The line was originally constructed by the Mobile & Ohio Railroad which was purchased through a foreclosure sale by the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad (GM&O) on August 1, 1940. The GM&O merged with the Illinois Central on August 10, 1972, resulting in the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad. On March 31, 1986, MidSouth Rail purchased 373 mi of track, which included this line, from the Illinois Central Gulf. On January 1, 1994, the Kansas City Southern Railway bought out Midsouth Rail.

Lines

The Alabama Southern's line is composed of three Kansas City Southern branch lines totaling 85.6 mi: The line runs between Columbus and Brookwood, with trackage rights over the Kansas City Southern from Columbus to Artesia, Mississippi. The railroad interchanges with the KCSR at Artesia, CSX Transportation in Brookwood, and the Norfolk Southern Railway in Tuscaloosa.