ATLANTA — What if you could take AMTRAK from Gainesville to the Atlanta airport to catch a flight? It's an idea that's being tossed around by transportation officials, although when that idea might become reality is a big unknown.
In an interview Friday on WDUN's Afternoon News Wrap, Lee Biola with Citizens for Progressive Transit reviewed some thoughts he shared recently in an article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
The idea right now hinges on the plans of the group that purchased the old GM assembly plant in Doraville. According to the AJC, the plant could support several transportation hubs, including an AMTRAK platform. Whether The Integral Group LLC wants to do that is unclear.
"If it can't be funded from their development, I really think that we need to find a way to make this work," said Biola. "Whether it means getting a federal grant or getting the state to make a contribution or having a combination of those things...because we need a rail-to-rail connection."
The benefit of having an AMTRAK connection to and from Gainesville is two-fold, according to Biola.
Gainesville residents could catch the AMTRAK train at the depot and then make a MARTA connection at Doraville that would take them to the airport, thus avoiding Atlanta traffic and parking fees at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
