Chattanooga's Kelly to head regional rail initiative

Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly has been selected to chair a coalition of municipal and state leaders working toward the creation and enhancement of passenger rail and freight networks in the Atlanta-Chattanooga-Nashville-Memphis rail corridor. 

The Sunbelt Atlantic Compact is looking to connect the four major metro areas through passenger rail, all of which are consistently ranked among the fastest growing cities in the country. The effort would serve around 10 million people – roughly half the population of both Tennessee and Georgia – as well as an estimated 6.7 million commuters.  

As Atlanta and Memphis are already connected to the New Orleans to Chicago Amtrak rail line, the project would also connect Nashville and Chattanooga to the Amtrak rail system. Chattanooga has been the lead agency on the project, which has also been working with several nonprofits and CSX.  

Kelly has been an advocate for the project since its inception and said he would like to the passenger rail system up and running within five to seven years. Kelly has touted the project as a way to lessen traffic congestion as well as an economic engine for the region. 

The first research phase of the project to determine its viability was funded by a $500,000 federal grant. The result was that utilizing existing freight lines for passenger trains would be the simplest approach. The analysis also found the project could create 10,684 jobs and an estimated $81.5 million in economic activity in a 20-year span.