Gov. Deal cautious at passenger rail pitch

ATLANTA -- Like a driver looking carefully before crossing a railroad track, Gov. Nathan Deal is taking a cautious approach to proposals for passenger rail that could link Macon to other cities.

“As with most major expenditures, and of course passenger rail would constitute a major expenditure to make it workable, the question is sustainability. Most passenger rail systems do not in and of themselves produce enough revenue to sustain themselves,” Deal said. “So, therefore, you have to tap into revenue of the state or federal government as the case may be, or even local jurisdictions.”

Simply put, passenger rail usually needs a subsidy.

But before Deal can say if it’s worth any money from Georgia’s coffers, he listed some questions that he said lack answers right now.

First, would enough people use any passenger rail to make it come close to being sustainable?

Then, how big would the gap be, and would filling that gap be acceptable to the public?

The cost questions, if not the political ones, could be answered by the Georgia Department of Transportation. The department is working on an update of state rail policy that may include millions of dollars in studies of potential passenger rail connections in Atlanta; Charlotte, North Carolina; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Macon or Columbus.

Deal made the remarks Tuesday at a Norfolk Southern freight rail yard in Atlanta, just after he and others christened a new low-emission locomotive that will ferry cargo across the site. Passenger rail advocates want to put their trains on one of Norfolk Southern’s rail lines between Macon and Atlanta. One difficulty is that all those boxes of cargo already use the lines.

Macon-Bibb County Mayor Robert Reichert is trying to convince city governments on the railroad from Macon, Griffin and on toward Atlanta that they should consider subsidizing passenger rail to help attract federal and state buy-in.

Reichert points to a 2010 study that suggested rail would spur new building in trackside towns, though he also says there is a need for a more thorough study.

This story was originally published September 1, 2015 at 10:46 PM with the headline "Gov. Deal cautious at passenger rail pitch ."