By Ted Smith
Imagine a high-speed rail service that whisked us from Birmingham and dropped us off in downtown Atlanta near stadiums and arenas and/or the airport in about 90 minutes.
If we had this capability at our doorstep, it would bring growth to the Birmingham area and eventually connect us to places like Charlotte, New Orleans and Dallas at speeds much faster than a car or shuttle bus.
I’ve lived in metro Birmingham for more than 40 years. Like many here, I make frequent trips to Atlanta, where I have family. Others go to catch flights at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, shop or attend Hawks, Braves and Falcons games.
There’ve long been whispers here about having a high-speed rail service between BHM and ATL, but we generally have not seen beyond the status quo — beyond simply driving back and forth between the cities or utilizing the shuttle bus service.
Well, it’s long past time we looked beyond what we see now and ask: Why not Birmingham for high-speed rail service? Why not get on board the growing trend of high-speed rail service in the South to not only add another convenient option for travelers between the cities but also spur commerce and economic growth in our region?
High-speed rail isn’t new — just faster. The idea dates back to the High-Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965. Of course, earlier “high-speed” trains are the horse-and-buggy predecessors of today’s high-speed rails, which generally exceed 110 mph.
Acela, which is part of Amtrak and connects cities in the Northeast, can reach a top speed of 160 mph. In California’s Central Valley, construction is underway for high-speed rail along 119 miles and several cities in the region. The line, which will eventually stretch 171 miles, is slated to roll in 2028. That same year, another route between Los Angeles and Las Vegas is scheduled to begin.
During my tenure as chair of the Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority, we saw seeds of high-speed rail being planted in numerous forward-thinking cities throughout the Southeast.
In Florida, high-speed rail travels between Miami and Orlando, with discussions underway to expand to Jacksonville and Tampa. Proposals are incubating from Washington D.C. to Raleigh to Charlotte to Atlanta and beyond.
Why not Birmingham?
In December 2023, the High-Speed Rail Alliance, a non-profit member-supported organization, completed a Southeast Regional Rail Plan that “proposes a vision for a regional passenger-rail network,” according to its website.
“The plan identifies core elements and steadily builds out that core with new segments and upgrades to existing lines,” the site notes. “From the pivot point of Atlanta, three high-speed lines would radiate out and link the region, with lines to Tampa Bay (via Jacksonville and Orlando); to Nashville; and Washington D.C. (via Charlotte and Raleigh).”
Why not Birmingham?
To me, it is a no-brainer. High-speed rail service would create jobs, increase corporate hubs, and jumpstart economic growth in our communities.
The BJCTA has formed a group that is already studying the possibility and feasibility of high-speed rail for our area – from construction to completion. We’re no longer asking, “Why not Birmingham?”
We’re answering the question by looking beyond the status quo forward into the future.
If we do not, who will?
Between 2018 and 2024, Ted Smith was chair of the BJCTA Board of Directors. He currently serves as secretary.
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David Sher is the founder and publisher of ComebackTown. He’s past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).
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I totally agree with the high speed train to Atlanta and beyond. How can this be put into place?
More talk, no action. Bham airport was supposed to be an overflow airport for Atlanta. Something Like Charlotte is now. For whatever reason , Charlotte got chosen and not good ol Bham. Wonder why ?? What happened that Bham didn’t get chosen?? Why hasn’t Bham formed a METRO AREA with surrounding city’s?? Maybe The Ham doesn’t work well with others??? Ampitheather for one.
The lack of a METRO government is not a Birmingham city problem. Instead look at the suburbs. I remember when the idea was being discussed, and a resident of Mountain Brook was against the idea because of Birmingham pollution at the time. You must be new to the area, if you don’t understand why there is no METRO government in the area.
Long overdue
Go Ted GO!!!
It shouldn’t just be Atlanta. While population is lower, geographically, Birmingham is in a sweet spot geographically. A north route to Nashville and a northeastern route to Knoxville (along the Great Appalachian Valley) would be ideal along with a route to Atlanta. The former could help connect the Midwest to the South without having to cut through the Appalachians and the latter could be a bypass to the northeast so that routes further west (Texas, New Orleans) could cut out passing through the Piedmont in route to the BosWash corridor. Huntsville could get on this too, as otherwise a Nashville/Atlanta route would leave that city out in the cold.
Atlanta gets the hub nod due to population (rightfully), but route-making wise, Birmingham ought to be a crossroads. There’s also an area where Birmingham’s ahead of Atlanta: the train station. Atlanta’s station is pretty poor and not even connected to MARTA. Yes, they’re building a new one, but Birmingham’s been ahead on that front for years.
I’ve long dreamed of such a thing, particularly driving home from Atlanta Airport on a Sunday night after a weeklong European vacation where other countries can be accessed in a morning by train and my airfare was 1/4 the price and direct out of Atlanta but what a struggle to stay awake and think about work and school in the morning. Why won’t it happen? Because it would make Birmingham a bedroom community to Atlanta and Nashville. Birmingham employers would have to cough up Atlanta wages. Atlanta workers would build tract housing in Jeffco. We’d be the Connecticut of the South.
High-speed rail to Atlanta would be great, but I recall a study in the 1980s found that the costs would be very high due the topography between Birmingham and Atlanta, the regulations regarding grade crossings, and massive costs. Yet a good idea worth pursuing.
Thanks, Ted! But how can this happen? It makes too much sense…
It will never happen, because Birmingham and Jefferson County don’t know how to work together for the good of the region. They have let the population decline, instead of becoming one solid city- county government. Birmingham is now the fourth largest city in Alabama, make that, make sense. The region is too segregated to have a hot dog stand less only a light rail. Remember the DOME.
Use right of way of l-20 East along denied access of highway and parallel like subway in Chicago.
Minimize land cost.
Living in Nashville, I won’t comment on the feasibility of high-speed rail between Birmingham and Atlanta. However, because Nashville is often mentioned in Southeast passenger rail service (we have none at present), I clicked on the link to learn more about the 2023 HSR Alliance proposal. It was informative, though I wish the site didn’t immediately post a donation request. (This isn’t your traditional nonprofit charity.) Perhaps I didn’t search the site thoroughly, but I couldn’t find definitions of the five different color-colored lines in the Southeast map. What do the designations mean, including the Bham-Atlanta and Nashville-Atlanta lines? Thanks.
I should add that I did appreciate seeing a Nashville-Birmingham line included, since we drive between the two cities regularly and would prefer to use a train. I was surprised that Huntsville doesn’t appear on the map. Planners must not have conceived of the Rocket City’s tremendous growth when they laid out the route for I-65. Hopefully passenger rail service planners won’t make the same mistake, even if the topography presents challenges.
Article number 7,000+ advocating high speed rail. Why not? Because this is Birmingham and it would require cooperation between too many cities. Let’s merge the governments and maybe we can make progress.
For all the advantages high speed rail from Birmingham to Atlanta may provide, has anyone assessed the negative impact this would have on passenger traffic at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport?
Why would this make sense?
Who would actually use it ??
Would the amount of riders pay for the maintenance ??
This is just a way for your department to mis- manage taxpayers money.
This is a better priority than widening I-65 or building a Northern Beltline.
There is high-speed rail all over Europe, China and Japan. Here in the USA, we are very much behind the rest of the world.
Great to think of what could be, thanks for sharing your vision. Has anyone stated the estimated cost of such a project? Passenger usage study for both ways? If so can you please share?
The California project has been stalled by delays and has wildly exceeded the cost estimates since construction began.
Houston/San Antonio/Dallas once pushed for this but the intended rail was already busy and upgrading it to passenger-safe conditions was among several reasons that it died in the 90s.
Of course a BHM/ATL may be a much less complicated project compared to others.
Just reading the myriad amount of comments for and against this project, perfectly sums up why Birmingham will always “be Birmingham”. There were good arguments for and against the proposal. But its some of the skeptics and cynics, who seem to always seem to be laying in wait, ready to provide no answers at all, just doom and gloom on why something will never work in Birmingham. It really is amazing that Alabama is only 20 years behind the rest of the country when it comes to most things. Maybe one day we will quit fighting each other and decide to Make Alabama Great Again. Now that’s a MAGA I can get behind.
Eric, there’s nothing wrong with laying out the pros/cons and potential downfalls. Birmingham’s best chance is to be a stop between Dallas and Atlanta.
You can’t just use billions of dollars of taxpayer money for something unsustainable. Birmingham is a very small market to try to justify something like this. So it’s not haters or naysayers, it’s people calling it like it is.
My last 2 cents, I think the reason we don’t have a robust HSR system already in the US is due to our great road system. It’s far better than other countries so it impedes our need.
But yes, I would LOVE to see this and I think rail is much better than air/road. I’m willing to get behind these projects but it’ll have to come from a much larger market. Birmingham can’t even justify the need for a northern beltline (yes, I think it’s unjustified), much less HSR.
Ivan, I never stated whether I was for/against this project in particular. I also said there where good points for and against the idea. I have no problem with this debate or debates in general as I know they are vital in making well informed decisions. Maybe you missed that, but go back and re-read it. There are haters who offered no ideas or alternatives; they just quickly cancelled the idea in general. Saying it’s no need because we are too divided as a region. I don’t believe that to be true. We just need the right person with the right vision who can unite us as one. You, yourself, said Birmingham is too small. That’s debatable. But what is your alternative since you don’t think this is a viable idea? I personally am not an expert on this subject but I think the author of the column may be and certainly has the experience and expertise to voice his opinion. I do know that Birmingham has a metro population of 1.2 million. Tuscaloosa’s MSA is a shade under 300,000. So that right there is a population of at least 1.5 million here in the Central Alabama region. Maybe that’s not enough people as you say, maybe it is. Let’s at least come up with some great ideas to move Birmingham forward and not backwards. Otherwise will we not only fall further behind the great cities across the South but eventually we will be eclipsed for good by smarter and more progressive cities in our own state. People who want to see Birmingham succeed may say,” hey I don’t think this is a good idea at this time for this market but here is another proposal that may work…” . Hopefully you can see the difference in what I am saying. There are naysayers out here and there truly are smart people with great ideas who truly want to make the region better. Haters said Railroad Park, Regions Field, the Mercedes Plant(the birth of our auto manufacturing industry), and Uptown/Protective Stadium were bad ideas from jump and would never work. All are successes because we had smart people, with visions, who did their homework and provided something positive besides a scolding or antiquated, old thinking, old ways of the past. Here’s to more of the former and less of the latter. Please Make Alabama Great Again.
Eric, I’m certainly no expert on it either and, like I said, I’m very much for this project! I just think it will have to be spearheaded by a much larger market before putting Birmingham’s/Alabama’s very limited resources at risk.
We MAY get a HSR if Atlanta decides to connect to Dallas but that’s about the only way. Do you think Atlanta wants to fund a HSR to Bham? Maybe one day, but I’m sure they’d go for a Nashville / Charlotte / Tampa / Orlando / Dallas line first.
Is Birmingham a large market? Sure. 1.5M people isn’t small, but it’s also a largely poor and low growth market.
I have no idea how this kind of proposal works but if Birmingham can make it happen then great! Just don’t risk billions of our dollars on it.
Hi Ivan. Did you take a look at the map on the HSR Alliance website? As I mentioned in previous post(s), the site doesn’t seem to explain the color-coded routes. Before Comeback Town moves on to another topic, it would be helpful to understand the routes and their relative feasibility/priority. I’m especially interested here in Nashville, as we have no passenger rail service at all. Thanks for any insight you have!
CA high speed rail system is already over 100 billion over cost and climbing. Imagine what the crooks in BHM and the state of Alabama can make off this since the new prison build is going so well.
May I reiterate the question I posted on December 31: Can Mr. Smith or anyone following this thread explain the different routes as identified on the color-coded FRA Southeast Plan map? What are the definitions and practical implications (timetable, cost, priority) of the red “Regional Line” between Birmingham and Atlanta, and the thin blue “Other Important Lines” going west from Birmingham? Since I am in Nashville, I’m also interested in the green “HSL/Regional Line” between here and Atlanta, as well as the yellow “Shared Use Line” between here and Memphis. My request isn’t an idle one, as I couldn’t find easy explanations on the website. The differences here will define the feasibility of high-speed rail everywhere. They can help frame this discussion going forward, too. Thanks.
Laughable. High speed rail is the natural outgrowth of functioning, vibrant states, not decrepit nepotism-network tyrannies. Alabama must clear out the corruption and traditionalist complex if it wishes to institute any positive change whatsoever.
To add context after reading some other comments, I don’t wish to merely doom-gloom. I believe in the future of the South and Alabama. But you must be realistic – and what that entails here is revolution. Clear out the profiteers, the parasites, and the gluttonous oligarchs who rule this state. Then perhaps you could invest in beautiful technology like this.