Columbus doesn't want to miss Georgia's high-speed rail train

By Associated Press

For the AJC

City leaders in Columbus are pleading with state lawmakers not to allow plans for high-speed rail service in Georgia to bypass their community.

City Manager Isaiah Hugley told lawmakers the issue is no different than when some cities didn't push to get on the interstate highway system in the 1960s and '70s, and their economies suffered because of it.

The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reports that plans for future rail services were discussed Thursday during the area's annual legislative agenda meeting. High-speed train lines from Atlanta to Athens, to Macon and to Savannah have been discussed under the Gold Dome.

Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson said her city must be involved in those discussions.

"We can’t allow for there to be a high-speed rail infrastructure built that would not include Columbus," Tomlinson said. "It would affect us from an economic development standpoint and from a quality of life standpoint. It would make us uncompetitive with our neighbors."