The Atlanta Terminal subdivision heads south, turning southeast at a wye on the south side providing a connection from the NS (and through it, the CSX line to Stonewall), trailing in on the south side, at Circle Connection (WA MP 0.0/YYG MP 170.8), th former location of Atlanta Union Station, and a crossover east of that location, which is (or was) also the location of the New Georgia Railroad's Milepost Zero station on a track on the north side of the main line as it heads southeast through a tunnel under the streets of Atlanta.
The main line is double track, with overall speed limit 50 mph, but with a restricted speed limit of 25 mph from MP 170.0, past the line turning east-northeast with the MARTA east-west heavy rail transit line on a viaduct to the south side of the line,, a junction with an NS line north to its Armour Yard, where Hulsey Yard begins along the south side of the line, where a line coming east and then north from Oakland Junction trails in, and the east end of the yard (used for intermodal purposes, mainly), turning east past Pullman Shops, east-southeast past Clifton, and east-northeast again past Kirkwood (MP 166.5), end of double track, and junction with the Inman Park Belt heading away northeast on the north side of the line, to MP 165.6.
The now single track line, which has a restricted speed limit of 45 mph from MP 165.6, continues east-northeast past the north side siding at Decatur (MP 164.8), Avondale Estates, a spur trailing in on the north side from the Scottdale Industrial Area, a turn north-northeast and then northeast to Scottdale (MP 162.5), beginning of the Stone Mountain DTC Block, east and then northeast past Clarkston, east, northeast, southeast and east-southeast past the north side siding at Stone Mountain (MP 155.2), end of the Stone Mountain Block and beginning of the Redan Block, and south to MP 154.7, where full line speed commences, continuing past a detector MP 152.9, and turning east past Redan and then south to the end on junction with Georgia subdivision at Lithonia (MP 149.0), where a line from Davidson Mineral trails in on the east side and a spur heads away on that same side.
Outside the urban area, the CSX line runs through the typical forests of this area.