Council hears update on four-city passenger-rail compact; Chattanooga acting as lead agency
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Summary
City staff reported Chattanooga is leading a four-city Sunbelt Atlantic rail compact to add passenger service using existing freight corridors; staff said the project is entering step 2 (project planning), estimated next-phase funding needs at about $5 million with a 10% match, and cited an economic-impact estimate from a Tennessee advisory commission.
City staff and project partners briefed the council on a regional passenger-rail initiative intended to connect Chattanooga with Atlanta, Nashville and Memphis using existing rail corridors and targeted capital improvements.
"Chattanooga has been holding the clipboard, so we are the lead agency for this four-city consortium," said Ella Smith, who presented the update. Smith said the group is assembling a Sunbelt Atlantic Rail compact and coordinating with state agencies and partners, including TDOT and GDOT, as it moves from scoping to project planning.
Project approach: Presenters said the program focuses on adding sidings and double-tracking at key bottlenecks so passenger trains can pass freight trains without delay. The team cited examples in North Carolina and Virginia where similar work supported reliable passenger service at 60–70 mph on improved segments.
Timeline and funding: Smith described a three-step approach: (1) scoping/business plan, (2) project planning and engineering, and (3) design and construction. She said the project is concluding step 1 and entering step 2; federal and state funding will be necessary for later phases. Staff said step-2 funding is roughly $5,000,000 with a 10% non-federal match (the presenters said the municipal share will be negotiated among the four cities and two states) and estimated, with full capital, a multi-year build that could take 5–7 years if all funding were available.
Economic case and partners: Smith cited work provided to the Federal Railroad Administration and said Amtrak was part of the original submission and could operate service if the line is developed. She also referenced analysis attributed to the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) that estimated a corridor economic impact in the order of $20,000,000,000.
Council questions: Council members asked about ownership and governance of the line (project staff said Chattanooga would be a user rather than owner in most scenarios and that a later-stage authority or similar entity would likely manage service), station siting (options discussed included a station near the airport or at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum/Choo Choo), and ridership/ fare questions (staff committed to provide fare estimates and ridership modeling as project planning proceeds).
What happens next: Staff said they will pursue step-2 planning work, seek the required match contributions among the consortium partners, refine ridership and fare modeling, and return to council if/when a local funding request is needed. No local funding vote was requested at this meeting.