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Letter to the editors: Phase 1 done — can a new Choo Choo become reality here?

Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Visitors look on as a train prepares to leave during the Day Out with Thomas event at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum on Saturday, April 5, 2025.
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Visitors look on as a train prepares to leave during the Day Out with Thomas event at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum on Saturday, April 5, 2025. Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Visitors look on as a train prepares to leave during the Day Out with Thomas event at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum on Saturday, April 5, 2025.

By Ronald Williams 1 min read

Can new Choo Choo become reality here?

Hooray for Chattanooga! We have passed Phase 1 and are on the right track towards Amtrak service. Now, if only our community organizer/social activist City Council can get its act together and get us to the finish line. Here is my take:

(IN THE NEWS: First research phase of Chattanooga passenger rail project nearly complete, mayor says)

› Chicago to Memphis, Tennessee. An overnight train connects with the one headed to New Orleans. Early morning, the train divides and new train heads to Nashville.

› Nashville to Chattanooga through the Lookout Mountain railroad tunnel, with stops at downtown Chattanooga and airport before turning south to Atlanta.