Atlanta BeltLine Inc. laid out its most complete vision yet for rail around the loop: a roughly $3.5 billion light-rail system of three bi-directional routes, 13 stations and an estimated 4.2 million rides a year, built along the 22-mile corridor with a northwest leg following the CSX right-of-way past Piedmont Hospital.
Days later, City Council member Kelsea Bond introduced a resolution, backed by nine colleagues, demanding the Dickens administration, MARTA and the BeltLine produce an implementation plan and construction timeline for full-loop rail by Jan. 26, 2027, plus quarterly progress updates.
"We cannot keep kicking this can down the road," Bond said. The mayor withdrew support for Eastside Trail rail in 2025, so the resolution is as much a prod as a plan. Public comment on the study runs through Nov. 3.
Why it matters
Voters approved a transit tax for BeltLine rail in 2016 and almost none of it has been built; this is the first time the full-loop cost, ridership and route are on paper alongside a hard date the council wants the city to commit to.
Sources and documents2 sources
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