U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) announced new federal awards to explore three new passenger rail corridors in Georgia.
The grants are being distributed by the Federal Rail Administration, and are made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law championed by Warnock and Ossoff, according to a Dec. 7 press release.
The corridor identification grants, totaling $1.5 million, will fund efforts to explore three new passenger rail routes across Georgia and into neighboring states. When completed, these routes would provide additional public transit options between economic centers in the state like Savannah, Macon, Augusta, Athens and Atlanta, and provide Georgia residents with increased mobility options to reach some of the Southeast’s largest cities, including Nashville, TN; Memphis, TN; Chattanooga, TN; and Charlotte, NC.
“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,” Warnock said in the release. “I’m thrilled to announce new investments to explore three new passenger rail corridors in Georgia, and I’m glad to work with Senator Ossoff to get this done.”
“Through the bipartisan infrastructure law, Senator Warnock and I are accelerating progress toward passenger rail networks to serve Georgia and the Southeast region. This is a long-term project that will require cooperation and strong execution at all levels of government, but it has the potential to unlock huge gains in mobility and quality of life for Georgians,” Ossoff said.
As a member of the Senate committee that covers rail policy, Warnock has pushed for a potential Atlanta-Chattanooga-Nashville-Memphis passenger rail corridor. In June 2023, Warnock and Ossoff announced $3.2 million in federal funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for projects in Chatham, DeKalb, and Gwinnett counties to improve mobility by eliminating railway-highway crossings and study construction alternatives to address safety, connectivity, and environmental sustainability.
Warnock also secured Senate passage of two critical provisions in the Railway Safety Act of 2023 to address stalled trains trapping Atlanta residents in their neighborhood, and would update the grant program to provide additional support for projects that would eliminate crossings near schools, along school bus routes.
