Central Georgia transit advocates push for Macon station in Atlanta-to-Savannah rail plans

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Sen. Jon Ossoff's office sent staffer Owen Brier to the I-75 Central Corridor Coalition meeting to discuss federal support for the rail line.

Credit: Amanda Andrews / GPB News

Members of the I-75 Central Corridor Coalition met in Henry County Wednesday. The meeting included updates on federal plans to support the Georgia Department of Transportation's passenger rail connecting Atlanta to Savannah.

One potential route being considered would go through Macon. Kay Pippin is on the board of the coalition. She said an intercity rail station would bring growth to central Georgia.

“It’s about economic development”, Pippin said. “All you have to do is look at every place a road is built, every place that a rail line is installed, there is economic growth and prosperity that follows it.”

Senator Jon Ossoff’s office sent staffer Owen Brier to deliver updates about service options and federal funding.

He said they’re considering a variety of private train operators for the high speed rail project.

“Obviously Amtrak is the first vendor that people would think of as being able to provide this service,” Brier said. “There are also private intercity rail organizations such as Brightline that have started, that are not as well established, per se, as Amtrak, but that have started on major projects.”

The latest federal budget proposal from the Senate Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Committee included $5 million for Amtrak to study the creation of a new Amtrak station in Atlanta.

Funding could also come from the Corridor ID program and the federal-state partnership for intercity passenger rail, both of which are up for reauthorization in 2026.

Brier said it’s important that those programs are available.

“We're going to be closely monitoring any potential developments related to these programs and making sure that they do get reauthorized," he said. “And if we can, that we get sufficient funding for them as well.”

The rail line between Atlanta and Savannah would move passengers and freight.

Macon Bibb County Commissioner Stanley B. Stewart said the benefits to the region would be numerous.

“You know, you're taking stress and strain off the Interstates,” he said. “You also look at it from an environmental aspect. You're taking emissions out of the air. So, you know, from that aspect, from both those aspects, getting where you want to get to much faster.”

Other cities being studied for a potential station include: Athens, Augusta, Milledgeville, and Statesboro, among others.