Report: Atlanta-Macon commuter rail could spark smart development

The case for commuter rail line service between Atlanta and Macon received a little oomph yesterday: A new Brookings Institution study says the much-needed project could be an economic shot-in-the-arm — and help change the sprawlish monstrosity metro Atlanta's become over the last 50 years.

The thorough study — commissioned by Georgians for Passenger Rail, a successor organization to Georgians for the Brain Train — offers a hodgepodge of ways that local jurisdictions could fund the 103-mile rail line. Gordon Kenna, the advocacy group's executive director, says the study offers a business case for the project and should answer the last, lingering questions state lawmakers still have about passenger rail — what's it gonna cost and where can we find the cash?

According to Kenna, work on the rail line — which would cost an estimated $400 million — could begin as early as 2016. Should everything go according to plan, trains could be running several times a day between Atlanta and Macon by 2018. Located along the route would be stops in Hapeville, Morrow, Hampton, Griffin and Forsyth. (Download a study PDF here.)

"It's the right time to put the numbers in place and think, Is this what we want?" he says. "Our opinion is that this is like the decision Atlanta made in the '50s and 60s when they said, We think it's time to make a major investment in transportation. Back then it was the interstate highway system. Now it's rail."