The Atlanta Amtrak Station just north of Midtown has many challenges: It’s too small, there are few services nearby, it’s located about a mile from the nearest MARTA rail station, and it’s not ADA-compliant.

Now, the Atlanta Regional Commission and the City of Atlanta are teaming up on a study to find a possible new home for the station.

The Passenger Rail Station Alternatives Study, which formally kicked off last week with a stakeholder engagement meeting, seeks to identify a location in downtown Atlanta that offers improved customer service, ADA-accessibility, and multimodal connections for rail travelers.

Atlanta is currently served by Amtrak’s Crescent line, which connects New Orleans, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and New York. One southbound train leaves Atlanta each morning, while a northbound train leaves overnight.

Ridership at the Atlanta rail station has been rising steadily in the past three years. About 78,000 passengers used the Atlanta station in 2024, compared to 68,000 in 2019.

The study comes as Amtrak and state officials have discussed potential passenger rail expansion in Atlanta to serve places like Nashville, Charlotte, and Savannah.

Amtrak is also working to bring all of its stations, including Atlanta’s, into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act by 2027.

Get Involved: Take Our Survey and Help Us Identify Station Locations

We’re seeking public input to inform our study. Visit the project website to learn more about the study, take a survey, and use an interactive map to mark locations you think might be a best fit for a future station.

The survey and interactive map will be open until October. A draft plan will be released in December, with anticipated ARC Board approval in early 2026.

Atlanta’s Passenger Rail History

The City of Atlanta was once served by two large downtown passenger rail stations.

Terminal Station opened in 1905 on Spring Street. It was torn down in 1972 to make way for the Richard B. Russell Federal Building.

The smaller Union Station was located just west of what is now the MARTA Five Points rail station, Forsyth and Spring streets. It was also demolished in 1972.

The current Amtrak station was built in 1918 as a small station serving what was then the city’s outskirts.

Over the years, several efforts have been made to build a new passenger rail station. This includes a Multi-Modal Passenger Terminal serving long-distance and commuter rail along with local and inter-city buses.

The Atlanta City Council passed a resolution in 2022 supporting a new Amtrak station and formally requested ARC conduct the alternatives study in 2024.