Listen for the whistle! Downtown Gulfport train speeds going up

Kansas City Southern Railway Co. will be doubling train speeds — from 10 to 20 miles per hour — through North Gulfport and downtown Gulfport.

Speeds will go up Oct. 31 from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard for 2.5 miles south to U.S. 90, a news release from the company says. A $17.5 million federal grant paid for improvements to the rail that were designed to allow for higher speeds and double-stacked cargo.

The improvements were viewed as essential to expansion of the state port’s West Pier after Hurricane Katrina. The port expansion is ongoing. While increased container cargo was anticipated by this point, the port has the same three pre-Katrina tenants shipping containers: Chiquita, Dole and Crowley.

The Sun Herald will update this story when KSCR responds to questions.

This story was originally published October 17, 2016 at 10:03 AM with the headline "Listen for the whistle! Downtown Gulfport train speeds going up."