Atlanta could become a hub for Amtrak expansion — but we need a new station
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The study area where planners envision a new Amtrak station. Rendering: Courtesy of the Atlanta Regional Commission
Atlanta could become a major hub in Amtrak's push to expand passenger rail to nearby cities and across the nation. But the city's lone station won't cut it.
Why it matters: Built in 1918 to handle suburban passengers, the Brookwood train stop doesn't comply with ADA laws and isn't built to meaningfully participate in a future America where rail travel could become more commonplace.
- Plus, the station looks like it's about to collapse on I-85. The time to dream big has both arrived and is long overdue.
Driving the news: Over the coming months, Atlanta Regional Commission planners are asking people where they think the city's next Amtrak station should be built Downtown.
- That input — particularly from people who ride one of the two Amtrak trains that serve Atlanta every day — will help planners decide what's technically feasible. Add yours
Zoom in: Most of the presented options run along existing tracks traveling through Downtown. Planners also gauge whether people think the station should be constructed elsewhere in the study area.
Reality check: Atlanta's dreams for a new Amtrak station date back to the 1990s, when ARC first published a feasibility study about building a Downtown hub serving rail and bus passengers.
- Over the decades, planners have considered other locations, including Atlantic Station (today the spot is a retail development) and Doraville (too far from Downtown), along with possible rail routes.
- The initiative has lurched along ever since, thanks to a lack of cash, conflicts with freight rail operators and a general lack of political will — Georgia Republicans slammed the brakes on passenger rail after the party's early 2000 takeover of state government.
Yes, but: The stars are aligning, Tejas Kotak, the ARC senior transportation planner overseeing the Amtrak station effort, told Axios.
- The Atlanta City Council is on board with building a new Amtrak station Downtown. And in 2024, Amtrak requested $30 million to start buying land and planning the rail hub.
- U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) secured more than $8 million for the Georgia Department of Transportation to study passenger rail routes to Savannah, Charlotte and Chattanooga.
And unlike past plans, the ARC one is meant to be actionable. "Those were plans that created really good ideas and really nice pictures, but they never had an idea of, okay, what is the next step?" Kotak said.
Zoom out: Amtrak plans to make upgrades to the current station over the next few years to comply with ADA laws, ARC officials told Axios.
What's next: Sign up for updates on the project website. Planners will announce public meetings soon.