Work on commuter rail to begin within 6 weeks

[Wdlgln005]

Nashville-Lebanon line cost estimate rises to nearly $40 million
After several months of delays and a higher price tag, major construction on the Music City Star commuter rail is set to begin within six weeks.

The Regional Transportation Authority, which is helping organize the project, announced that a $7.6 million construction contract has been awarded to Queen City Railroad Construction Inc. That means major upgrades of the railroad tracks can begin. The earliest work will be between the downtown Nashville riverfront and Mt. Juliet.

Passenger service on the 32-mile Nashville-to-Lebanon rail is set to begin in late 2005. It is expected to help reduce growing interstate traffic congestion.

Construction had been delayed earlier this year because the state Department of Transportation, a financial partner in the project, had concerns about projected passenger numbers, as well as financial and other business details.

''I think the project is stronger because of it,'' said Allyson Shumate, rail projects coordinator for the RTA.

Because of TDOT's doubts, RTA officials spent several months developing a detailed business plan and won TDOT's support. TDOT is focusing on a new, long-term project plan that emphasizes more public transportation, including rail service.

''Commuter rail may be one part of the solution that we will consider on a case-by-case basis as part of this plan,'' TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely said.

The commuter-rail project is now budgeted for nearly $40 million — up $2.1 million from the most recent estimate, rail organizers said. The additional costs are to cover the rising cost of steel, as well as more ''cushion'' money, a contingency fund for unexpected costs.

''That was a big thing, working through and getting TDOT support,'' Shumate said.

The Music City Star remains one of the cheapest new commuter-rail projects in the nation, in large part because it will use existing tracks on the Lebanon-to-Nashville leg. Eleven railroad cars from Chicago have been shipped to Nashville.

The fare is slated to range from $3 to $4 for each one-way trip, with discounts available for frequent riders.

Mark Hinesley is already looking forward to taking the train into Nashville several times a month for his work as president of the Mt. Juliet/West Wilson County Chamber of Commerce. ''We are very, very excited,'' Hinesley said.

He also hopes to ride the train in for downtown baseball, if Metro approves a proposed new AAA baseball park for the Nashville Sounds.

Hinesley said he hopes the rail might eventually draw new industry to Wilson County with a work force that could use the rail to travel from Davidson County.

''I think it opens up all kinds of opportunities for two-way traffic,'' Hinesley said.

Some challenges are still ahead for the Music City Star project.

The Nashville-to-Lebanon leg, known as the East Corridor, is still about $8 million short of its total budget.

Most of the money is coming from federal government grants.

The RTA hopes to secure some or all of the money from the next federal budget, slated to be finalized sometime after the presidential election.

The Music City Star is one of five proposed commuter-rail lines into Nashville.

Initial research has begun on a second leg, southeast to Rutherford County, but experts say it is probably a number of years in the future.

http://www.tennessean.com/growth/archives/04/09/58707824.shtml?Element_ID=58707824

2 nice pictures of the cars in the article

[daveklepper]

Thanks for the good news.

[Modelcar]

...Boy, that's a new twist of news. That line comes right near down town and should be really handy to folks who want to be dropped off near down town. Hope it succeeds.

[Anonymous]

I wonder what kind of rolling stock will be used on the network? If the cars came from Chicago...and are second-hand Metra...probably galleries, as are used in Chicago, San Francisco, and Montreal.

~Ra'akone

[eolafan]

What kind of power will they be using on the trains? Perhaps rebuilt ex-Amtrak F40's?

[Wdlgln005]

Haven't seen any new power yet. Construction will take about a year to complete. There will be some new alignment of the old Tennessee Central track, in Briley Park-Opryland area. May be some new track for "stations" on Nashville & Eastern.
The cars look to be ex-C&NW smoothsides. It would be fun to come up with a new paint scheme! I'm not sure if the new service has a logo yet. Perhaps a 5 pointed star could be made out of notes? .

[MP57313]

I was in the Nashville area several years ago. Somewheer near Hermitage there was a platform (asphalt) and a commuter rail sign posted. Were these placed in the "planning" stages for the Music City Star, or was there some other (tourist?)service in the area?

[Wdlgln005]

The Tennesse Central Museum operates a train from their site east to Watertown. This is the same line. There used to be a dinner train that operated out of downtown. The Hermitage site is just a little east of the TC site. It is possible it may have been used recenty for the Thomas trains to give the kiddies a short train ride. The Metro Transit (bus) does have some park & ride lots, along with several Titan express runs for games. Most likely, this is what you saw.

If you go to the TC museum website, they do have a good collection of Budd ATSF/Amtrak coaches, some E's and a pair of F40's. I would bet that it could be possible to swap something with the Chicago Metra fleet, or at least get something that could pull old gallery cars! Should be a good article for our hosts at Trains to track down? If you had $30-40 mil to spend on a route, & compare that to the startup of the VRE service in Richmond?

[Anonymous]

Thats great how about a line from Reading to Philadelphia, weve only been waiting over 20 years since the end of service. Im not saying anything bad but Philadelphia and its regional area has about double that of Nashville but not much commuter service.