Of the three routes under consideration to link Atlanta to Charlotte, only one should be considered.
That’s Greenfield route. It would cost between $6 billion and $8 billion, have by far the shortest time between termini and also serve the highest number of passengers. Is there really reason to spend double that amount for a slower route or go cheapest and waste $2 billion for a route that wouldn’t be quicker than driving and serve virtually no one? Exactly.
For now, exact routes, costs and most importantly funding mechanisms are TBD for the Southeast High-Speed Rail Corridor. Eventually, the government hopes that corridor will link up with lines traveling all the way to Boston.
Undoubtedly a massive rail project is part of the “elusive solutions for expanded regional transit”. Is this the one? I don’t know but missing from any paeans to our roadways is that the only true solution is fewer cars on the road.