White House unveils high-speed rail project for Atlanta airport

Driving the news: The White House announced $8.2 billion in new funding for 10 major passenger rail projects across the country, including the "first world-class high-speed rail projects in our country's history."

• The funding comes from the $66 billion federal bipartisan infrastructure law.

Details: The government's Federal Railroad Administration's Corridor ID Program includes advancements to seven new high-speed rail projects.

• One of those projects is the "Charlotte to Atlanta, a new high-speed rail corridor linking the Southeast and providing connection to Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, the busiest airport in the world," according to the White House.

Zoom in: A total of $1.5 million will fund efforts to explore three new passenger rail routes across Georgia and into neighboring states, according to U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA)'s office.

• The three $500,000 awards will support research into creating new commercial passenger rail corridors from Atlanta to Savannah; from Atlanta to Charlotte, NC; and from Atlanta to Chattanooga and other major cities in TN.

What we don't know: If this funding research will result in actual construction — or the timeline for the project's start and completion.

What they're saying: "Creating new transit options with routes connecting Atlanta to Savannah, Charlotte, Chattanooga, and cities in between would be a boon to our state and economy," according to a statement from U.S. Senator Reverend Warnock (D-GA).

• "Through the bipartisan infrastructure law, Senator Warnock and I are accelerating progress toward passenger rail networks to serve Georgia and the Southeast region," said Sen. Ossoff in a statement.

What we're watching: We're waiting for more details on how this will all play out.

• Axios Atlanta reached out to the governor's office and Mayor Andre Dickens's administration for comment.

Read more ... High-speed rail gets a multibillion-dollar White House boost