One of the biggest disadvantages of our new home is that we’ve lost access to Amtrak service. Charlottesville had three lines running through it, but Augusta has a grand total of zero. One bright spot on the horizon, however, is that Amtrak is studying a high speed rail (HSR) connector between Charlotte, NC and Atlanta, GA that would come right through Augusta based on the current corridor study.

Granted, a study is a long way from an approved project, but I can’t help but dream about one day being able to quickly get to two of the nearest large metropolitan areas and being able to then hop onto the wider Amtrak network, especially here on the East Coast. The possibility of a new route from Atlanta all the way to Memphis would make travel back to family in the Midwest a lot more attractive as well since getting to the City of New Orleans to go toward Illinois currently requires a 12 hour layover in New Orleans, which is a lot, especially traveling with a child.

If we were to approach rail travel with an Apollo-level approach, then maybe wanting to ride the train wouldn’t feel like grasping at hopes and dreams and would actually be a rational infrastructure policy, especially in the light of climate change. Individualism has really done a number on public transit, and it hasn’t helped long-distance rail either. Here in the US, we really need to learn how to play well with others.

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