High-speed rail funding would build new $39 million Amtrak station near Atlantic Station

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• See that purple blob? At the Northside Drive and 17th Street intersection near Atlantic Station? That's where state officials want to build an Amtrak train station.

Remember yesterday how we wondered what Georgia rail project might compete for the $2.4 billion in federal funding that Florida Gov. Rick Scott opted not to accept? Turns out it isn't for a rail line at all — but a brand new, $39 million Amtrak station near Atlantic Station.

According to the application the Georgia Department of Transportation submitted to the feds, the state and Amtrak want to relocate Atlanta's rail passenger service from its current — and dare we say cool — Brookwood facility to a 6.5-acre parcel of land it owns near the intersection of 17th Street and Northside Drive. The state's asking for $23 million in federal cash to fund the design and construction of a "12,000 to 16,000-square-foot station facility, passenger platforms and shelters, parking facility, and layover track." The cash-strapped state's "in-kind" match would be the land, with Amtrak contributing other "in-kind" funds.

According to GDOT's application, the project, which has the support of North Carolina, Alabama and the city, could create 431 jobs. Depending on how the state moves forward with the project, the design process could begin in May and the station could open as early as next July. A transit-oriented development would most likely follow.

But wait! Isn't GDOT planning to build a fancy downtown train terminal? Yes — eventually.