Atlanta grew up as a railroad town and is still today a major rail junction, with several busy freight lines belonging to Norfolk Southern and CSX intersecting below street level in the downtown area. Long distance passenger service is provided by Amtrak’s Crescent train which connects Atlanta with the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Charlotte, Birmingham and New Orleans. The Amtrak station is situated at 1688 Peachtree St. N.W., several miles north of downtown and not well located for onward public transportation. An ambitious long-standing proposal would create a Multi-Modal Passenger Terminal in downtown adjacent to Philips Arena and the Five-Points MARTA station which would link MARTA bus and rail, intercity bus service, proposed commuter rail service to other Georgia cities, and Amtrak in a single facility.

Greyhound Lines provides intercity bus service between Atlanta and many locations throughout the United States and Canada. The Greyhound terminal is situated at 232 Forsyth Street, on the southern edge of the downtown area and directly beneath MARTA’s Garnett rail station.

The proposed Beltline would create a greenway and public transit system in a circle around the city from a series of mostly abandoned rail lines. This rail right of way would also accommodate multi-use trails connecting a string of existing and new parks.