Imagine Atlanta only being a two-hour high speed train ride away from Charlotte. $500,000 is being spent to study if that proposal can actually happen.
A long day of driving means it’s time for David Snow and his dog to make a pit stop at a rest area off I-85. Like right now, I’m headed back to Raleigh, and traffic is a nightmare this time of day, Snow says.
Like others, he’s intrigued by the idea of adding high-speed rail up and down the east coast. Recently, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced millions of dollars in funding to identify new rail routes or improvements. Up to $500,000 is being spent to study a high-speed rail line running from Charlotte to Atlanta, at speeds reaching close to 200 miles an hour.
Potential stops include the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, Augusta and Athens Georgia, Downtown Atlanta, and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.
Republican U.S. Senator Thom Tillis credits the bipartisan infrastructure law for making the funding possible. I believe rail is a part of our future. Uh, it has to be sustaining. It has to make sense. I don’t support all rail projects, but I don’t oppose all of them, Tillis says.
Back at the rest area, New York City resident Keith Collier says he’s used to riding the rail between Boston, New York, and D.C. I’m really in favor of it. I think it’s a clean, fast high-speed way of travel and saves a lot of time. Time savings is time you can’t get back, Collier says.
