Skip to main content
Tuesday, November 10, 2026Nov 10

Federal agency proposes two long-distance service passenger rail lines through Chattanooga

Contributed photo / Terminal Station is shown on Market Street in Chattanooga when it still operated passenger rail service. The last passenger trains left in the early 1970s.
Contributed photo / Terminal Station is shown on Market Street in Chattanooga when it still operated passenger rail service. The last passenger trains left in the early 1970s. Contributed photo / Terminal Station is shown on Market Street in Chattanooga when it still operated passenger rail service. The last passenger trains left in the early 1970s.

According to the preliminary results of a recently released federal study, 15 new passenger rail lines are proposed across the country, two of which would go through Chattanooga.

The two going through the city would connect Chicago to Miami and Houston to New York City.

The proposed routes from the Federal Railroad Administration, announced Friday, are part of a preliminary study still being conducted.

According to the federal agency, “Further analysis after completion of this study would be necessary to advance the preferred routes through project planning and project development activities prior to implementation.”

The study, which pertains to long-distance service, is part of an initiative outlined in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, federal legislation passed by Congress in 2021.