Meetings planned on potential Atlanta-Charlotte rail line

ATLANTA (AP) -- Georgia transportation officials are planning to hold public meetings on proposed rail service between Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C. One of the corridors under consideration runs through Gainesville.

State Department of Transportation officials say the Atlanta to Charlotte passenger rail corridor would be an extension of the southeast high-speed rail corridor that is under development from Charlotte to Washington, D.C. It would go southeast from Charlotte through parts of South Carolina and into Atlanta.

There are six potential corridor route alternatives. Officials say others may also be evaluated if they're identified during agency and public scoping meetings.

The public meetings are set for: June 4 in Suwanee, Ga. (from 4:00-7:00 in city council chambers); June 5 in Greer, S.C.; and June 6 in Charlotte. A virtual meeting will also be available on the project website from June 4 through July 4.

The exact termini of alternative corridor routes have not yet been established and will be finalized as a part of the scoping process which will address connectivity to proposed and existing passenger rail stations, airports, and other regional transportation services along the corridor. In particular, the project will consider connectivity to the proposed Georgia Multi Modal Passenger Terminal (MMPT) and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (H-JAIA) in Atlanta, and the proposed Charlotte Gateway Station and Charlotte-Douglas International Airport.

The six potential corridor route alternatives including three shared use alternatives: the Norfolk Southern (NS) railroad corridor (also referred to as the Southern Crescent Corridor route) which runs through Gainesville, Cornelia and Toccoa in northeast Georgia; the CSX Transportation (CSX) right-of-way between Atlanta and Chester, SC via Athens, GA and NS right-of-way between Chester and Charlotte via Rock hill, SC; CSX right-of-way between Atlanta and Augusta and NS right-of-way between Augusta and Charlotte via Columbia; two interstate alternatives: the I-85 corridor and the I-20 and I-77 corridor, and a

Greenfield corridor which offers the opportunity to define a fully grade-separated route alignment which has optimal geometric characteristics for high-speed passenger rail service. Some of these corridor alternatives were previously defined as a result of a 2008 Feasibility Study.

Other potentially feasible routes may also be identified if they meet the basic requirements of the purpose and need statement for the corridor. As a part of the study, FRA will analyze corridor alternatives, station locations, and service technologies including diesel and electrified operations, service frequency and hours of service. Other route alternatives may also be evaluated pending the outcome and identification of additional alternatives from the agency and public scoping meetings.

(AccessNorthGa.com's Ken Stanford contributed to this story.)