Next time you are in the area, stop by and visit the garden area of the Amtrak station dedicated to Jack s memory. Keynote speaker, Hugh McColl, president and chief executive officer of Bank of America, stated that building more highways hasn t relieved congestion. You simply invite more people to the party. In addition to stimulating economic development, trains don t cause the environmental problems of cars. Improving existing railroads costs about a third of highway construction.
Trains are the third leg of the country s transportation system.
The other two legs, highways and air travel, are in trouble. Operating crew and equipment for the new service exists. A test train with both Amtrak and Kansas City Southern technicians inspected the route on March 14. Although Amtrak could begin the Crescent Star within thirty days after receiving the FRA loan, Amtrak hesitates to start a new route during the busy summer vacation season. The rally, Thursday, February 22, concentrated on Governor Barnes unexplained loss of interest in aggressively pushing forward rail networks throughout Georgia.