Train of thought: Passenger rail, improved connectivity could bring benefits to the state

This is the City Talk column by Bill Dawers, a longtime contributor to the Savannah Morning News.

Hopes for the return of passenger rail service between Savannah and Atlanta got a boost recently when the Federal Rail Administration awarded the Georgia Department of Transportation $1.5 million to study potential corridors.

More: GDOT gets $500K for next steps in proposed Savannah-to-Atlanta passenger train

Some longtime Savannah residents remember the trip to and from Atlanta on the much-loved Nancy Hanks, which was curiously named for a Kentucky-born racehorse that was named for Abraham Lincoln’s mother. Service on the Nancy Hanks ended in 1971.

The potential expansion of Amtrak service with new routes across the country, including the one from Savannah to Atlanta, has been slowly moving forward since near the beginning of the Biden administration.

More: All aboard? Plans for passenger rail service between Savannah and Atlanta getting on track

In a recent press release, the U.S. Department of Transportation detailed new grants totaling $8.2 billion to be used on 10 projects ready for construction and further study of 69 corridors identified for future development.

In a 2021 map released by Amtrak, the proposed Savannah-Atlanta route would stop in three small cities between the coast and Macon: Springfield, Millen and Tennille in Washington County. I’ll confess to never having heard of Tennille, which is one of many small municipalities in Georgia that have been losing population for decades.

A more recent map developed by GDOT suggests that Augusta and Athens could be potential station areas, but it’s difficult to see how those cities could be connected efficiently. Statesboro is also labeled as a potential station area, which could make a lot of sense given the city’s proximity to the route proposed in 2021.

More City Talk: Recent public meetings point toward more scrutiny of rapid regional growth

Statesboro and Bulloch County are of course poised for dramatic growth with the opening of the Hyundai plant and other new industry along the I-16 corridor.

The 2021 route from Savannah to Atlanta would be 291 miles and take nearly six hours – similar to the time for the Nancy Hanks. I feel sure that the route would be popular with both businesspeople and tourists, but Amtrak estimates that the operational funding and infrastructure spending per new passenger would be higher than for some other routes now being studied.

Amtrak also notes that the “key trip” in the new route would be from Macon to Atlanta, which would only take about two hours. That leg would give Bibb County residents another option for getting to jobs or to the Atlanta airport, and it could potentially fuel tourism in Macon, which has seen the recent redevelopment of the historic Capricorn Sound Studios. Downtown Macon has lots of upside as a destination and the nearby Ocmulgee Mounds could soon become a full-fledged national park.

So don’t be surprised if state officials decide on a plan for phased implementation of the new route that prioritizes the leg from Atlanta to Macon.

It's impossible to know what the political and economic landscape will look like in 2028 when the Atlanta-Savannah route might be ready for construction, but it seems likely that elected leaders will see that the project is a winner with voters.

The new route would increase connectivity and potentially improve quality of life, but it’s worth noting that Atlanta and Savannah are already growing areas that will be just fine without the return of passenger rail.

As the bureaucratic momentum builds, state officials should focus their analysis on the long stretches between the metro areas.

Passenger rail could be an economic and cultural boon for small cities and towns across southeast and middle Georgia.

Bill Dawers can be reached via @billdawers on Twitter and CityTalkSavannah@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Passenger rail, improved connectivity could be a boon to state, area