Fayette

residents may not be used to the idea of a rapid

rail line running through the county, but one of

the architects of the plan says once it's here,

you're going to love it.

"What

is the value of people's time," said Arthur

Vaughn, executive director of the Georgia

Passenger Rail Authority, in an interview this

week with The Citizen.

"If

you spend 45 minutes on a train where you would

normally have spent an hour in a car," he

said, "a lot of people bring work home from

the office. That's 45 minutes of work time, and

it translates into 45 minutes of quality family

time at night."

The

Rail Authority will be heavily involved in the

implementation phase of the Atlanta Regional

Commission's recently released 25-year Regional

Transportation Plan. ARC currently is gathering

public comment on the proposed plan in hopes of

adopting it in March.

radical departure from previous transportation

plans for the Atlanta region, the new RTP would

earmark $20 billion for public transit, and only

$11 billion for road improvements and

construction. Previous plans have spent about

twice as much on roads as on transit.

In

addition to spending a projected $1.28 billion

for transportation projects in Fayette, the plan

includes building a $70 million, 31-mile commuter

rail line from Hartsfield International Airport

to Senoia, through Fayette County.

The

line, scheduled for completion late in the next

decade, would run roughly parallel to Interstate

85 until it reaches Fayette, then turn south,

roughly following Ga. Highway 74 through Tyrone

and Peachtree City.

Where

possible, the passenger line would use existing

freight train tracks, said Vaughn, and the area

would benefit both by the addition of passenger

service and the upgrade to freight service, since

in many cases the tracks would have to be

improved.

Plans

include passenger stations in both Tyrone and

Peachtree City, said Vaughn.

Exactly

where those stations would be has yet to be

determined. With rail construction scheduled for

2007 or 2008, local residents should expect to be

involved in a site selection process starting

around 2004, he said.

"We'll

look at the corridor and all potential station

stops," said Vaughn. "After we do our

evaluations and environmental and design studies,

we'll hone down to a more clear choice, and then

if we find any environmental or other problems

with that, we'll have to look at the next best

site," he added.

Local

governments, businesses and civic organizations

will be invited to participate in the process, he

said. "It is vitally important that we

understand what the community is

envisioning," he said. "None of this is

done in a vacuum. To make a success of it, it

will have to be where people will use it."

In

response to local concerns about the much higher

cost of public transit compared to road

construction, Vaughn said he believes the value

of a rail system to local commuters will more

than make up for the cost.

"What

will be the cost of congestion in 25 years,"

he said. Rail and other forms of public

transportation will make it possible for the

Atlanta area and the state to continue growing,

Atlanta region is expected to have seven million

residents by 2025.

"You

get eight times the potential usage of trains

that you would get in a lane of pavement,"

he added. "We can keep building more and

more roads, but why?"

Extending

Atlanta's public transportation systems to a

larger area will make the entire current system

more valuable, Vaughn argued. "There's a

report that only 10 percent of commuters use

public transit, but how much opportunity do they

have to participate when it's limited to a

certain geographic sector?"

He

said experts predicted that it would take three

years for passengers to start using a five-mile

extension of a rail line in Chicago. "In

nine months, it was operating at the three-year

projection," he said.

Commuters

will fall in love with the dependability of rail,

said Vaughn. "When we say we can get you

from Senoia to Atlanta in 47 minutes, that's day

in and day out, regardless of rain, snow,

whatever," he said. "Nowhere does the

automobile offer that guarantee.

"I'm

looking forward to the first engine

running," said Vaughn. "It's going to

be a success that's going to create its own

momentum."

In

addition to the rail line, ARC envisions a bus

system for Fayette, plus more high occupancy

vehicle lanes on I-85, and a bicycle/pedestrian

path system.

The

plan also includes road construction funds,

including widening Ga. highways 54 and 74, and

building a bypass system around Fayetteville.

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