From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Originally published Sunday, May 10

The Obama administration has committed to spend $13 billion over the next five years jump-starting high-speed rail projects. But it’s an opportunity that Atlanta is likely to miss, at least this time around.

… [P]olitically and bureaucratically, we’re located far from the real action. California and Florida, among other states, are well ahead of Georgia in planning and preparation for high-speed rail.

… From our country’s earliest days … government has invested in roads, bridges, canals and, later, railroads and airports to build infrastructure that private industry could use to conduct business.

… If Georgia leaders are no longer willing to make such big investments, those in other regions are less shy. One of the biggest advocates of high-speed rail in Virginia, for example, is Eric Cantor, the conservative House Republican whip.

… In a global economy in which speed and efficiency are rewarded, Georgia can’t allow itself to miss the train.