All Members of the CMCOG High Speed Rail Transit Committee

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1 Memorandum TO: FROM: All Members of the CMCOG High Speed Rail Transit Committee Derrick Huggins, Chairman DATE: November 7, 2013 SUBJECT: Next Meeting: November 14, 2013 Please be advised that the business of the CMCOG High Speed Rail Transit Committee will be conducted on Thursday, November 14 th at 12:00 p.m. in the CMCOG Conference Room. Enclosed, please find an agenda and support materials for your review. Please note that a light lunch will be available beginning at 11:45 a.m. so that we can begin promptly at 12:00 noon. If you have any questions or need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact Reginald Simmons of the CMCOG staff. Reginald can be reached at or by at rsimmons@centralmidlands.org. Thank you for your time, dedication, and service as I look forward to seeing each of you on November 14 th. Enclosures H:\High Speed Rail Transit Committee\High Speed Rail Transit Committee November 14, 2013-Notice Only.doc Serving Local Governments in South Carolina's Midlands 236 Stoneridge Drive, Columbia, SC (803) FA (803) Web Site:

2 AGENDA HIGH SPEED RAIL TRANSIT COMMITTEE MEETING: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2013 SPECIAL TIME: 12:00 PM TO 1:00 PM CMCOG CONFERENCE ROOM 1. Welcome, Introductions, and Call to Order... Derrick Huggins 2. High Speed Rail Vision... Derrick Huggins Derrick Huggins will provide an overview of the vision and purpose of the High Speed Rail Transit Committee. Mr. Huggins will discuss the potential and opportunity of establishing high speed rail in the Central Midlands region. 3. Current Status of High Speed Rail... Reginald Simmons There are several initiatives that are currently under development regarding high speed rail. Staff will review and discuss those initiatives. a. Atlanta to Charlotte High Speed Rail Corridor (Enc. 1) b. High Speed Rail Connections from the CMCOG Commuter Rail Plan (Enc. 2) 4. The Game Plan... Entire Group Chairman Huggins will lead an open discussion to develop a game plan for establishing high speed rail in the Central Midlands region. With the initiatives and leadership as established in the Obama Administration, the committee members will be asked to discussed how best to establish high speed rail service. 5. Next Steps... Reginald Simmons Based on the discussion, staff will provide a wrap up and establish the next steps in this process. 6. Old/New Business... Derrick Huggins 7. Public Comments... Open 8. Adjourn... Derrick Huggins H:\High Speed Rail Transit Committee\High Speed Rail Transit Committee Meeting Agenda Only.doc

3 Enclosure 1 Memorandum TO: FROM: All Members of the CMCOG High Speed Rail Transit Committee Reginald Simmons, Deputy Executive Director/Transportation Director DATE: November 14, 2013 SUBJECT: Atlanta to Charlotte Passenger Rail Corridor REQUESTED ACTION The Central Midlands Council of Governments staff will provide an overview of the Atlanta to Charlotte Passenger Rail Corridor. PROJECT DESCRIPTION The Atlanta to Charlotte Passenger Rail Corridor is an extension of the Southeast High-Speed Rail Corridor (SEHSR), which is under development from Charlotte to Washington, DC. The extension from Charlotte, would travel southeast through portions of South Carolina and into Atlanta. The exact termini of alternative corridor routes have not yet been established and will be finalized as a part of the scoping process which will address connectivity to proposed and existing passenger rail stations, airports, and other regional transportation services along the corridor. In particular, the project will consider connectivity to the proposed Georgia Multi Modal Passenger Terminal (MMPT) and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (H- JAIA) in Atlanta, and the proposed Charlotte Gateway Station and Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. There are six potential corridor route alternatives including three shared use alternatives: the Norfolk Southern (NS) railroad corridor (also referred to as the Southern Crescent Corridor route); the CS Transportation (CS) right-of-way between Atlanta and Chester, SC via Athens, GA and NS right-of-way between Chester and Charlotte via Rock hill, SC; CS right-of-way between Atlanta and Augusta and NS right-of-way between Augusta and Charlotte via Columbia; two interstate alternatives: the I-85 corridor and the I-20 and I-77 corridor, and a Greenfield corridor which offers the opportunity to define a fully gradeseparated route alignment which has optimal geometric characteristics for high-speed passenger rail service. Some of these corridor alternatives were previously defined as a result of a 2008 Feasibility Study. Other potentially feasible routes may also be identified if they meet the basic requirements of the purpose and need statement for the corridor. As a part of the study, FRA will analyze corridor alternatives, station locations, and service technologies including diesel and electrified operations, service frequency and hours of service. Other route alternatives may also be evaluated pending the outcome and identification of additional alternatives from the agency and public scoping meetings. H:\High Speed Rail Transit Committee\Atlanta to Charlotte.doc Serving Local Governments in South Carolina's Midlands 236 Stoneridge Drive, Columbia, SC (803) FA (803) Web Site:

4 Legend CHARLOTTEGASTONIA DOUGLAS Norfolk Southern I-85 CHARLOTTE GATEWAY SOUTH GASTONIA Greenfield SPARTANBURG I-20 and-i77 GREER CS Athens GREENVILLE CS Augusta ANDERSON ROEBUCK GREENVILLE CLEMSON TOCCOA GSP ROCK HILL FOUNTAIN INN ANDERSON DRAFT GAINESVILLE GREENWOOD SUWANEE DORAVILLE MMPT TUCKER H-JAIA LAWRENCEVILLE COVINGTON ATHENS COLUMBIA AUGUSTA Miles

5 High Speed Rail History

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