Senate bill could close off passenger rail service to Cobb and beyond (Atlanta: sale, lease)

[Airforceguy]

But some key decisions may already be underway to pre-empt that future. The Legislature is poised to make a key decision on the Western and Atlantic rail line that runs from Atlanta to Chattanooga. From today’s Marietta Daily Journal:

On Friday, the Georgia Senate passed SR 228. Buried in that resolution was a clause that would allow Georgia to enter a lease with CSX for the next 50 years in return for the rail company paying the state about $12 million a year.

There’s just one caveat.

CSX would have exclusive use of the railroad, ending any possibility for those tracks to be shared with a passenger rail line.

Your Daily Jolt: Bill would close off passenger rail service to Cobb | Political Insider blog

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by Airforceguy

Your Daily Jolt: Bill would close off passenger rail service to Cobb | Political Insider blog

Should read "Bill would close off passenger rail service to Cobb on already heavily-used CSX trackage"

[fourthwarden]

Originally Posted by Gulch

Should read "Bill would close off passenger rail service to Cobb on already heavily-used CSX trackage"

*on state-owned track that CSX makes heavy use of.

[tikigod311]

Originally Posted by fourthwarden

*on state-owned track that CSX makes heavy use of.

hmmmm, good point

Ok, let's see if this new transit effort on the state level is serious. Seems like the perfect time to show a little foresight and pressure the right people to make sure this exclusivity clause is out of any deal.

[Born 2 Roll]

While I do not think that future passenger rail service should operate on the existing freight rail tracks (which, as other posters have pointed out, are already extremely heavily used by freight trains), I do think that future passenger trains should operate on their own new passenger rail-dedicated tracks along the state-owned CSX/Western & Atlantic right-of-way.

[fourthwarden]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

While I do not think that future passenger rail service should operate on the existing freight rail tracks (which, as other posters have pointed out, are already extremely heavily used by freight trains), I do think that future passenger trains should operate on their own new passenger rail-dedicated tracks along the state-owned CSX/Western & Atlantic right-of-way.

While it is preferred that we build separate, dedicated track for commuter rail, the likely first iterations of commuter rail will make use of existing tracks. Especially for the more far-flung parts of the metro beyond Cobb's northern boarder.

I could certainly see some politician in the state saying that commuter rail is impossible in Cherokee or where ever because of this deal.

[arjay57]

So is this good or bad for Cobb and metro Atlanta?

[Thulsa]

I can see why CSX would want a guarantee that if they enter a long term lease with the state, the state could not turn around and put passenger trains on that same track. I suspect that's what that clause is about.

I'm also glad that another obstacle to the passenger train to Chattanooga has been placed.

I know this isn't a new discussion on City-data, but I think the only possible passenger train that might possibly have a chance of benefiting Ga and Atlanta would be high-speed through Charlotte to Washington DC.
I've ridden the existing train to DC/NYC many times, and upgrading the train would benefit me greatly, but I don't see it helping the state in general, for the cost.

[LTCM]

The thing is, replacing even a small amount of freight with commuter rail would be a negative for the metro. People forget about the huge number of semis that crowd the cobb cloverleaf and i-75 already. Adding commuter rail, and potentially displacing some freight to the interstates, is a huge risk that is likely to never happen.

The best thing for cobb, and the metro as a whole, is to keep as much port traffic off the roads as possible. I mean the best thing other than the northern arc, but that ship has sail...into a reef...a reef filled with sharks....and patrolled by pirates...and surrounded by islands filled with cannibals. But hey, nimby works.

[fourthwarden]

Originally Posted by Thulsa

I can see why CSX would want a guarantee that if they enter a long term lease with the state, the state could not turn around and put passenger trains on that same track. I suspect that's what that clause is about.

I'm also glad that another obstacle to the passenger train to Chattanooga has been placed.

I know this isn't a new discussion on City-data, but I think the only possible passenger train that might possibly have a chance of benefiting Ga and Atlanta would be high-speed through Charlotte to Washington DC.
I've ridden the existing train to DC/NYC many times, and upgrading the train would benefit me greatly, but I don't see it helping the state in general, for the cost.

While I don't think that ATL -> CHAT should be prioritized, I don't think we should be throwing up unnecessary roadblocks for ourselves regardless.

Originally Posted by LTCM

The thing is, replacing even a small amount of freight with commuter rail would be a negative for the metro. People forget about the huge number of semis that crowd the cobb cloverleaf and i-75 already. Adding commuter rail, and potentially displacing some freight to the interstates, is a huge risk that is likely to never happen.

The best thing for cobb, and the metro as a whole, is to keep as much port traffic off the roads as possible. I mean the best thing other than the northern arc, but that ship has sail...into a reef...a reef filled with sharks....and patrolled by pirates...and surrounded by islands filled with cannibals. But hey, nimby works.

We need to provide alternatives, period, to the roads. We need BOTH freight and passenger rail, which can carry many time as many people & freight as their highway counterparts for a given amount of energy. I certainly see no reason to limit ourselves as harshly as this would.

To quote someone else from the subreddit:

It's certainly a busy line, but I don't know if it's at capacity. I read recently that CSX has scheduled most of the trains on the W&A to run at night which would indicate that they're not running 24/7. Georgia has negotiated passenger service on railroads they lease to CSX as recently as the late 80's/early 90's when the state ran the New Georgia Railroad which was a tourist train from Atlanta to Stone Mountain.

Honestly, I don't mind the existing rails being used exclusively for freight if:

1. CSX helps pay for parallel tracks for Commuter / Intercity Rail
   
   or
   
   
2. CSX completly buys the route, with the money from the sale going to building Commuer / Intercity Rail