Amtrak is Coming to Macon and Columbus, GA, Chattanooga, TN, Montgomery, AL and Jackson, MS

This week, Amtrak released a plan to improve service on five of the Eastern long-distance routes.  One of the lines studied is the Crescent serving New York, Philadelphia, Washington, New Orleans and points in-between.  One of the recommendations is the initiation of Amtrak Thruway bus service from Atlanta to Macon and Columbus, Georgia and Chattanooga, Tennessee; from Birmingham to Montgomery, Alabama; and from Meridian, Mississippi to Jackson, Mississippi.

The Amtrak Thruway services extends the reach of the train system to cities that do not have train service.  Buses, vans, taxis, commuter trains and ferries provide Thruway service in many parts of the United States.  The Thruway service is coordinated with the main train service so that schedules are matched.  Most of the times, if there is a delay on either service, the other one will wait for the other service to arrive before departing.  Passengers are able to buy one ticket through Amtrak (1-800-USA-RAIL) utilizing both the train line and the connecting Thruway service if purchased in advance.

At the Atlanta station (1688 Peachtree St NW, 30309), it is likely that the buses will depart from Deering Street on a staggered schedule given the tight space available.  Birmingham is building an intermodal station so until it is completed a temporary stop will have to be created for the bus.  The Meridian to Jackson service will connect with the City of New Orleans in Jackson increasing the train travel possibilities between the mid-South and Southeast.

Amtrak is projecting a ridership of over 30,000 annually on all of these new Thruway services with a net profit of over $1 million.