ATLANTA — Long-discussed plans for passenger rail service linking Atlanta to several major Tennessee cities are moving ahead, as planners focus on using existing rail infrastructure to keep costs down.

Because high-speed rail is considered too expensive, planners are targeting conventional passenger service along current freight corridors to connect Atlanta with Chattanooga, Nashville, and Memphis.

Ellis Smith, who is helping lead the effort, says the main challenge has been scheduling passenger trains around slower-moving freight traffic. The proposed solution involves adding sidings, or sections of double track, so freight trains can move aside while passenger trains pass.

“We’re building sidings and double tracks so the freight trains can move over and the faster passenger train can pass them by,” Smith said. “That’s the whole game, that’s what we’re working on.”

Smith recently spoke to the Chattanooga City Council, saying the project has buy-in from mayors along the route, as well as the Georgia Department of Transportation and the Tennessee Department of Transportation. He says planners have also held partnership discussions with Amtrak.

The project has federal funding attached and is now moving from planning into an engineering design phase. Smith estimates that phase could take about two years, though he says delivery timelines and total costs for the full project are still unclear.

“We’re using the existing rails that today already connect Chattanooga, Atlanta, Memphis, and Nashville,” Smith said.

While additional investment will be needed in the years ahead, planners say the approach could make it feasible to launch passenger rail service in years rather than decades, potentially creating a new regional rail link between Georgia and Tennessee.

WSB Radio’s Graham Carroll contributed to this story.