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Atlanta to Charlotte high speed rail project set for public comment

Meeting will be held at Georgia Department of Transportation on Tuesday evening.

ATLANTA — A public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening to hear feedback on an ambitious high-speed rail plan connecting Atlanta and Charlotte.

The meeting is set to be held at the Georgia Department of Transportation offices at 600 W. Peachtree St. NW in Atlanta. The meeting is scheduled for 5:30-8:00 p.m.

Officials hope the rail system, if ever built, could get riders between Atlanta and Charlotte in as little as roughly two hours.

The meeting will gather public input on three possible routes - one that would mostly follow Interstate-85 between the two cities, another running more to the north of that corridor called the "Southern Crescent" route running mostly along existing freight rail and the third running more to the south of the I-85 corridor called the "Greenfield" route that would require new, dedicated rail lines. 

Credit: Georgia Department of Transportation

According to a release announcing the public hearing - and two more, in Charlotte and Greenville, SC - the purpose of the proposed rail system would be to "improve intercity passenger travel between Atlanta and Charlotte by expanding the region’s transportation system capacity and improving trip time and reliability through high-speed passenger rail services."

The Federal Railroad Administration and GDOT submitted a draft environmental impact statement on the project last month, initiating a 45-day review period that ends Nov. 4.

People can examine the projected impacts detailed in the report - which include impacts on local waterways, noise impacts and land acquisition plans - in the full report on GDOT's website.

Those who wish to comment online can also do so through a web survey GDOT is conducting.

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