Senoia Mayor Joan Trammell

said last week's announcement of the building of an

Atlanta-Griffin commuter rail line is a "mixed

blessing" for the city.

Trammell praised U.S. Rep.

Mac Collins for securing funding for the project and is

glad to see a rail line so close to Senoia. Collins spoke

at the opening of last week's morning meeting of the

Georgia Passenger Rail Authority at the Clayton County

Commission office in Jonesboro.

GRPA Chairman Carl

Rhodenizer told those present, including Georgia

transportation Commissioner Wayne Shackelford, that

Collins has not been adequately credited for his role in

pushing funding for the Atlanta-Griffin line.

Trammell is glad to see

that rail lines are moving closer to reality.

"I think this summer

has really proved how bad the pollution problem is,"

she said.

An Atlanta-Senoia rail line

has been discussed for years, but Trammell has not

received word on how the Griffin line would affect

Senoia's chance at getting rail service.

"We haven't planned

our growth strategy around a rail station, but it's

always been in the back of our mind," she said.

Collins succeeded in

gaining federal funding for the line through

transportation appropriations because he persuaded the

chairman of the House Transportation Committee, Rep. Bud

Shuster, to break with precedent and allow funding for

the Georgia rail development project.

"Congressman Mac

Collins is a real friend to this district and one who

provided real leadership in Congress to provide $29

million for the Macon to Atlanta line," Rodenizer

said.

The state's overall rail

system, which will incorporate mass transit linking

Atlanta with 20 counties and tie the state's cities

together with an inter-city system, may cost $1.5 billion

over ten years, said GRPA's Arthur Barnes as he briefed

the meeting on rail developments.

Top priority lines are the

line from Athens to Atlanta, and the line from Griffin to

Atlanta.

The Athens line, which has

been given top priority, is estimated to cost $170

million when completed. The line to Griffin, the

second-highest priority, would cost $70 million,

according to GRPA.

The plan envisions

completion of the line by 2004. It would comprise the

first tier of transportation, which would take a line

from Macon to Atlanta.

The rail plans envision

trains linking Georgia's six largest communities with

trains traveling at speeds up to 110 mph.

It would involve 790 miles

of upgraded passenger and freight tracks, and would serve

over 50,000 people daily. While the overall cost would be

$1.5 billion, it is estimated that federal funds would

cover 80 percent of the cost.

GRPA argues that the rail

line would cut the increasing delays in commuting to

Atlanta, and result in improved air quality, Barnes said.

"As I was driving up

the interstate on [Interstate] 75 up from Bucks County, I

was listening to the traffic," Collins told the

audience, recalling that the radio commentator said,

"Hold your nose, folks, because the traffic

stinks."

Collins said that if a

visitor heard this on the radio, he or she would gain a

bad impression of the region. "Wouldn't that make a

pleasant ad for another city competing with Atlanta for

jobs and growth?"

Collins said he was

heartened at the meeting, because it showed that

Georgians are dealing with the traffic problems.

"We've come a long way

in the past months, due to the leadership of the various

authorities and the leadership of the governor of

Georgia," he said.

"We were able to get

some legislation in the transportation appropriations

bill to designate the Atlanta to Athens, and Atlanta to

Griffin routes as high priorities. Of course, as we go

down the road, we will have to look at other

sources," Collins added.

"As the representative

of the 3rd District, I am very interested, very

concerned, and more than willing to do our part, so that

we meet the air quality standards, and move people at a

fast enough pace that people will get moving again,"

Collins said.

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