A decade-old proposal to reroute freight trains around Atlanta is drawing renewed attention as the proposed Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern merger, now under federal review, opens what supporters call a once-in-a-generation opportunity to expand passenger rail service in one of the nation's fastest-growing metro areas.

Proponents view the merger of Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) and Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) — which would create the first transcontinental railroad — as a chance to leverage local support and transform the Atlanta metroplex passenger rail network. Shifting thousands of commuters from road to rail would also likely improve fluidity for trucking logistics in the city, a crossroads of industry in the Deep South where Interstates 75, 85 and 20 converge inside the I-285 loop.

The Surface Transportation Board is currently evaluating the rail merger and is not expected to rule on the $85-billion consolidation until 2027. Under merger rules the STB tightened in 2001 after the service breakdowns that followed the Union Pacific–Southern Pacific and Conrail consolidations of the late 1990s, major rail combinations must be shown to enhance competition, not merely preserve it.

The tie-up has attracted its share of detractors, who claim the monopolistic effects of shrinking the number of U.S. Class I carriers will raise rates and degrade service for shippers. A completed deal would leave five U.S. Class I railroads, the first such contraction since Canadian Pacific combined with Kansas City Southern to form CPKC in 2023. Other stakeholders, however, see a prime chance to extract valuable concessions. Canadian National (NYSE: CNI) recently did just that in an access agreement that would expand its operations to the Mexican border while giving UP-NS access to a route around the congested hub of Chicago.

It is precisely that "belt line" bypass that an embryonic coalition wants to bring to Atlanta, where it would free up hundreds of miles of track for passenger trains and help thin out the city's legendary traffic jams — congestion that regularly ranks the metro among the most gridlocked in the United States.

Like the I-285 interstate, the perimeter highway that rings the city, the idea — first envisioned a decade ago by Mark Hitchcock of Jacobs Engineering — would divert freight trains that currently run through the heart of Atlanta onto existing track operated by NS and CSX (NASDAQ: CSX) in a U-shape route around the city. If 80% of freight trains were diverted, it would open up capacity for 14 commuter rail lines, Hitchcock said in an interview with the local Saporta Report. That would be a step change for a metro of more than 6 million people that has never had a commuter rail network; its only intercity passenger service today is Amtrak's Crescent, which stops in Atlanta once a day in each direction on its New York–New Orleans run, alongside MARTA's heavy-rail transit lines serving the urban core.

The merger process could help establish an operating agreement between NS and CSX and kickstart construction of about 12 miles of new track in Atlanta's southeastern region needed to complete the bypass, said Hitchcock, a member of the nonprofit Atlanta Design Roundtable, which backs the project.

Hitchcock admits the effort is no small lift, comparing its development to building Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, with a price tag of as much as $6 billion. But that is a bargain compared to the $90 billion a Georgia State House committee last week estimated the state would need to spend on roads by 2050 to keep up with growing truck volume and highway repairs.

"We are going to double the amount of freight between now and 2050," Hitchcock said. "I don't think we can build our way out of it. Right now, if there's no change, 86% of all freight will be going by truck."

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens has expressed interest in the bypass and connected the nonprofit with a regional commission for further discussions. Political support could presumably be cultivated after Union Pacific said in its merger applications that it plans to move more than 500 management jobs from NS headquarters in Atlanta to its own base in Omaha.

"This is a 50-year vision," Hitchcock said, comparing the effort to the Georgia Road Improvement Plan (GRIP) launched in 1989 that is now 72% complete. "Leadership would have to come from the state."

Stakeholders have until Sept. 4 to sign on to the merger evaluation process with the STB.

Reported by Stuart Chirls for FreightWaves.