Published Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Would you ride a high speed train from Atlanta to Nashville or Chicago?

Editorial

Would you like to board a high-speed train in Atlanta and travel north to Nashville? Or even farther north to Chicago? Or how about Atlanta to Florida by high-speed rail?

Such travel may be available in the future, although we have not heard of any timetable.

What we have heard this week is that Georgia and Tennessee are applying for a $34 million federal grant to continue the development of high-speed rail service from Atlanta to Nashville. The Georgia DOT said the money would help speed development of the train system. The money would come from the Federal Railroad Administration under the U.S. High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail program created by Congress last year.

Georgia and Tennessee already received $14 million last year to develop plans for the Atlanta to Chattanooga leg of the high speed rail service.

While the push now is on for service from Atlanta to Chattanooga and Nashville, eventually the service could stretch on to Louisville, Ky., and Chicago to the north and southward through Florida.

One day, high speed rail service will likely connect many major U.S. cities. Much like the interstate highway system was started back in the 1950s during the Eisenhower Administration, President Obama and future presidents are likely to see high speed rail service as a major component of travel alternatives throughout the country.

Japan has had the high speed bullet trains for decades. Certainly, this mode of transportation should be added to the travel mix in our country as we look for ways to reduce the number of passenger cars and trucks on our highways.