The voice of Georgia Baptists since 1822

Log in Subscribe

Feds providing more funding for passenger rail in Georgia

The southbound Amtrak Crescent pulls into the station as traffic flows past on I-85 in Atlanta, Nov. 20, 2022. (Index/Henry Durand, File)

The southbound Amtrak Crescent pulls into the station as traffic flows past on I-85 in Atlanta, Nov. 20, 2022. (Index/Henry Durand, File)

Posted Monday, December 11, 2023 10:06 am

By DAVE WILLIAMS, Capitol Beat News Service

ATLANTA – The Biden administration is stepping up federal funding of three planned intercity passenger rail projects in Georgia.

The Federal Rail Administration has awarded $1.5 million in grants to explore linking Atlanta with Savannah; Charlotte, N.C.; and Chattanooga, Tenn. The grants are part of $8.2 billion in new funding for passenger rail projects announced Thursday.

The money comes from the bipartisan infrastructure spending legislation Congress passed two years ago.

The Atlanta-to-Savannah route would include potential stops in Athens, Augusta, and Macon. The $500,000 grant announced Thursday is in addition to $8 million in congressionally directed spending on the project approved in March of last year.

The Atlanta-to-Savannah project is envisioned as a high-speed rail project, as is the planned route between Atlanta and Charlotte. It, too, would include potential stops in Athens and Augusta and would terminate at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The Atlanta-to-Chattanooga passenger rail line would continue on to Nashville and Memphis.

Recent news

Obituary: Clyde Meador, longtime international missions leader

Longtime International Mission Board leader Clyde D. Meador died Friday, April 26. He was 79. Clyde Meador worked closely with four IMB presidents as a top advisor and executive vice president, and as the mission organization’s interim president from August 2010 to March 2011 and again briefly in 2018 before the election of current President Paul Chitwood.

Columbia pro-Palestinian protest was carefully planned

NEW YORK (AP) — Months before they pitched their tents on Columbia University's main lawn, inspiring a wave of protest encampments at college campuses nationwide, a small group of pro-Palestinian student activists met privately to sketch out the logistical details of a round-the-clock occupation.

Send Network “sticks together” with Ethiopian church planter separated from family for 11 years due to persecution

Samnas Alemu thought he was saying goodbye to his family for one week. In 2013, persecution forced him to flee his home country of Ethiopia to seek asylum in the United States, and he was hoping to reunite with his family soon. But a week turned into months, and months into years, as Samnas waited for a hearing before a judge for his asylum case.

Commentary: VBS opens doors for discipleship

Most people who walk into Freedom Church in Neosho, Missouri, start with a worship service. It’s an on-ramp to the church’s discipleship pathway, a natural starting point on the journey from being a first-time visitor to a growing, serving follower of Christ.

IMB missionary kid proves you're never too young to share God's Word

Every Sunday, 8-year-old Micah Singerman heard his parents, International Mission Board missionaries Kevin and Victoria Singerman, tell chronological Bible stories in Kampala, Uganda. He then watched the Ugandan believers go out and share the same story with people in their community.

US expected to provide $6 billion to fund long-term weapons contracts for Ukraine, officials say

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is expected to announce Friday that it will provide about $6 billion in long-term military aid to Ukraine, U.S. officials said, adding that it will include much sought-after munitions for Patriot air defense systems.