The metropolitan development project de jour is mass transit, especially light rail. Atlanta’s neighbor to the north, Charlotte, North Carolina, wants to continue its self-branding as a Southeastern destination city. To do that, a developer wants to cement its relationship with Atlanta via rail.
Business magnate Johnny Harris spoke to the Charlotte Chamber’s annual meeting this week, touting an “express rail” to ATL, which would bring “massive” economic gains to the region, the Charlotte Observer reported.
Harris’ comments come as the Georgia Department of Transportation has been studying transit between the two cities. G-DOT has been looking into the plan as part of an extension of the Southeast High-Speed Rail Corridor (SEHSR), which is under development from Charlotte to Washington, D.C.
“It is an unbelievable opportunity,” Harris was quoted as saying. “No other geographic area of this country meets the same criteria as Charlotte to Atlanta does.”
The high-speed link is seen as a necessary means to relieve congestion on all the major thoroughfares between ATL and Charlotte.
To learn more about the plan, click here.
