Amtrak looks at rail link between Augusta and Atlanta airport

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Augusta could gain a rail link to Atlanta’s airport as a bonus when Amtrak upgrades its Atlanta-Charlotte route to high-speed service.

The project is included in $8.2 billion in grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation for 69 rail corridors in 44 states.

A portion of those grants is earmarked to upgrade the service between Atlanta and Charlotte to high-speed rail.

The upgraded route would also serve Augusta and Athens before ending at a new station at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Also included in the grants is a plan to add service from Atlanta to Savannah, Nashville and Memphis.

Currently, the only Amtrak route running through Atlanta is the Crescent Train between New York and New Orleans.

A potential route between Atlanta and Savannah would also connect Atlanta to the Silver Service train between New York and Miami.

A potential route between Atlanta and Memphis would connect Atlanta to the City of New Orleans train between Chicago and New Orleans, giving Atlanta easier access to one of the nation’s major rail hubs.

Also in the news …

• The Georgia Ports Authority board voted Tuesday to spend $127 million building a new inland terminal for moving cargo by train between Savannah’s busy seaport and Gainesville northeast of Atlanta. Known as the Blue Ridge Connector, the terminal will link northeast Georgia to the Port of Savannah by rail across roughly 250 miles, giving shippers an alternative to moving cargo by truck through Atlanta.

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