Commuter Rail should be "Plan B" for Atlanta Transportation (Macon: home, transfer to)

[southernc]

Now that T-SPLOST is behind us, we should seriously consider commuter rail as a first step toward addressing Atlanta's regional transportation challenges. In 2006, GDOT proposed a plan to run commuter rail on existing railroads on seven spokes outward from Atlanta.

The entire plan would cost $1.95 billion, would carry 8,700,000 passengers per year, and would be faster and less expensive to build than other transportation projects like adding freeway lanes or MARTA extensions, because it uses the tracks on existing railroads. This project could be completed in far less than 10 years, and costs less than a third of the T-SPLOST price tag. Atlanta is moving forward, separately, on the central MMPT station at Five Points. Commuter rail would offer predictable rush hour commute times for people in 55 communities as far out as Gainesville, Athens, Madison, Macon, Senoia, Bremen, and Canton.

GDOT commuter rail plan
Commuter Rail

Below is my letter to editor in the AJC today, facts about commuter rail, and a map of the proposed system.

Caleb Southern

***

Letter to the Editor, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 7, 2012
Readers Write 8/7 *| ajc.com

Commuter rail, not list of projects needed

T-SPLOST failed in part because it was a laundry list of unrelated local projects that failed to address our regional transportation problem. There is a solution that serves all 10 counties in Region 3 and beyond. Georgia’s Department of Transportation has already floated a plan to run commuter rail on existing railroads.

The full system would serve millions of passengers per year, and would be far cheaper and faster to build than freeway lanes that will fill up in a year. Rail offers predictable commute times during rush hour. It can be built in phases. It’s time to fast-track commuter rail for metro Atlanta. Its the quickest and most cost-effective plan to begin to untie Atlanta’s traffic congestion.

CALEB SOUTHERN, ATLANTA

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Fast facts about Atlanta Commuter Rail
- Commuter Rail
- Uses existing railroads (cheap and fast to implement)
- Total cost: $1.95B (2006 estimate)
- Annual ridership: 8,700,000
- Transports 40,000 commuters per day
- Serves 55 communities
- 425 miles of rail on 7 spokes out from Atlanta
- Serves all 10 counties in T-SPLOST region 3, and more
- Lines extend to: Gainesville, Athens, Madison, Macon, Senoia, Bremen, Canton

[BobKovacs]

Great plan- assuming you live near one of the rail lines, and also work within walking distance of one of the lines. Unfortuately, it does little for the rest of the folks who don't. By the very facts you listed, it serves 40,000 people per day, which is less than 1% of the population.

[SEAandATL]

I was thinking the same thing as I have been checking the GDOT site myself.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by southernc

The entire plan would cost $1.95 billion, would carry 8,700,000 passengers per year, and would be faster and less expensive to build than other transportation projects like adding freeway lanes or MARTA extensions, because it uses the tracks on existing railroads. This project could be completed in far less than 10 years, and costs less than a third of the T-SPLOST price tag.

If...and that's a ginormous "IF" those assumptions are correct and true, then I would support it. I still question the assumptions though, and would love to know where the ridership numbers are from. Almost 9 million riders per year? Really?

[southernc]

Bob,

100% of the metro population is not commuting everyday (children, retirees, etc.) Of those who are commuting during rush hour, not all of them are using the freeways parallel to the seven proposed commuter rail corridors.

A freeway lane has a capacity of only 3500 cars/hours. For same $2B price tag as the entire commuter rail system, we can build the proposed HOT lanes on I-75 and I-575 -- one of the seven rail spokes. By your logic, the northwest HOT lanes are great for people who live near them, but do little for people in other communities. Taking 40,000 commuters off the metro Atlanta freeways every day is nothing to sneeze at. And it is cheaper and faster than adding lanes to all the freeways.

Commuter rail is not the answer to all our transportation challenges, but it the most cost-effective and quickest way to start.

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

Great plan- assuming you live near one of the rail lines, and also work within walking distance of one of the lines. Unfortuately, it does little for the rest of the folks who don't. By the very facts you listed, it serves 40,000 people per day, which is less than 1% of the population.

[southernc]

The numbers come from the Georgia Department of Transportation, on the attached map.

Canton line, 43 miles, 7 stations, $244.6M: 800,000 riders/year
Gainesville line, 53 miles, 10 stations, $310.5M: 1,300,000 riders/year
Athens line, 72 miles, 9 stations, $388.0M: 2,100,000 riders/year
Madison line, 68 miles, 8 stations, $173.9M: 800,000 riders/year
Macon line, 103 miles, 12 stations, $351.0M: 1,600,000 riders/year
Senoia line, 38 miles, 5 stations, $188.8M: 1,200,000 riders/year
Bremen line, 52 miles, 5 stations, $296.2M: 900,000 riders/year
TOTAL, 429 miles, 56 stations, $1,953.0M: 8,700,000 riders/year

Originally Posted by neil0311

and would love to know where the ridership numbers are from. Almost 9 million riders per year? Really?

[cqholt]

Great idea. Those in the suburbs can drive to the stations. Buses and other transit can provide connection, within 1 mile, of most businesses. For transit to be effective people are going to have to walk around 1/2 mile.
I think the idea of providing stations ITP for commuters to transfer to MARTA without having to travel all the way downtown.

[south-to-west]

People need to realize that commuter rail operates completely different than light rail or heavy rail in that density is not a requirement around commuter rail stations near points of origin. For example, one should be able to conveniently drive from home to a commuter rail station as is done in other metros with commuter rail. Additionally, last mile connectivity to the workplace can be enhanced through heavy rail, light rail, bus, or even adequate pedestrian facilities.

Commuter rail also works great financially because you can managed the number of daily trips according to demand. For example, you can operate a route with departures every hour during peak travel periods in the am and pm without having to operate it in off-peak hours. Light rail and heavy rail, on the other hand must be operated around the clock on a more frequent basis.

After a while, buses become more expensive once demand reaches a certain point because more vehicles and drivers are needed when demand increases. With commuter rail, all you need in most cases to do is add an additional rail car. Additionally rail travel offers a more reliable trip time and passengers don't have to worry about being stuck on the bus in rush hour traffic.

This region is definitely ripe for commuter rail...

[cqholt]

Free wifi on all commuter trains for people to get work done during the commute. Can't do that driving in traffic.

[arjay57]

It looks like the blue area is where you'd stand a good shot at getting a transportation bill passed. Elsewhere, not so much.