Senoia might soon be reliving its historic past as a railroad town, if the Atlanta Regional Commission's transportation plan comes to fruition.

The planning agency's $37 billion plan calls for four commuter rail lines including an Atlanta to Senoia line.

The line would start in Senoia and include stops in Peachtree City and Tyrone before hooking up with MARTA near Hartsfield International Airport.

Cost for the project is pegged at $70 million and the report does not issue a specific target date for the opening of the line. ARC's plan is a 25-year plan and is designed to improve accessibility to transportation for residents in the region, along with attaining regional air quality goals.

Senoia Mayor Joan Trammell said she was thrilled to discover the rail line is still a key component of the plan.

“I've had a lot of developers asking about it,” she said.

Trammell plans to get in touch with ARC officials to try and get a firmer grip on the plan and to learn when commuter rail cars could be rolling through Senoia.

Another component of the plan could also affect Coweta's commuters. ARC is proposing an increase of 220 miles of high occupancy vehicle lanes. Nearly eight of those miles would run down Interstate 85 south from Interstate 285 to Ga. Highway 74 at exit 12.

ARC officials estimate another million people will move into the region by 2025 and are trying to eliminate some of the traffic congestion and dirty air problems that will come with the new residents.

The plan focuses on getting more people to use alternative forms of transportation, such as car-pooling and transit. ARC estimates if the plan is implemented that transit ridership will increase from 278,000 a day to 527,000 a day by 2025.

The full plan will be presented to the ARC board next Monday.

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