The
Music City Star is a regional rail service running between
NashvilleNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
and
Lebanon, TennesseeLebanon is a city in Wilson County, Tennessee, in the United States. The population was 20,235 at the 2000 census. It serves as the county seat of Wilson County. Lebanon is located in middle Tennessee, approximately 25 miles east of downtown Nashville. Local residents have also called it...
. The service uses the existing track of the
Nashville and Eastern RailroadThe Nashville and Eastern Railroad is a short line railroad which administers 137 miles of track between Nashville, Tennessee and Monterey, Tennessee, of which 130 miles are currently operational. The company is based in Lebanon, Tennessee....
. The line currently has six stops:
Riverfront StationNashville Riverfront is a station on Nashville's regional rail line, the Music City Star. It currently serves as the western terminus for the line. The station is located at 108 South 1st Avenue in downtown Nashville near the Shelby Street Bridge...
,
DonelsonDonelson is a neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee located east of downtown Nashville along U.S. Highway 70. It is named in honor of John Donelson, co-founder of Nashville and father-in-law of Andrew Jackson, Nashvillian and seventh President of the United States...
,
HermitageHermitage, Tennessee is a section of Metropolitan Nashville, Tennessee located in eastern Davidson County, adjacent to, and named in honor of, The Hermitage, home of Andrew Jackson, seventh President of the United States...
,
Mt. JulietMt. Juliet is a city located in the western portion of Wilson County, Tennessee, U.S.A. It is a suburb of Nashville, and is approximately east of downtown. It is located roughly between two major national east-west routes, Interstate 40 and U.S. Route 70. As of the 2010 census, the city had a...
, Martha (
Tennessee State Route 109State Route 109 is a primary state highway in Wilson County and Sumner County, Tennessee. It runs from the intersection of SR 265 and SR 840 near Lebanon, north through Gallatin to the Kentucky state line and US 31-W....
and U.S. Highway 70), and Lebanon. The operation covers 32 miles (52 km) of rail line. Service began on September 18, 2006.
History
The train began operations on September 18, 2006, becoming the 18th commuter rail system in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, with a projected daily ridership of 1,500 passengers. The service launched with an estimated cost of $3.3 million dollars, of which $1.3 million was covered by revenues.
By the first month after service began, ridership failed to reach the projected goals, a situation which continued for several years, culminating with a financial shortfall of $1.7 million by the summer of 2008, of which the state of Tennessee covered $1 million in a bailout of the service.
Financial difficulties continued into the next year; in June 2009, the service was nearly shut down for lack of funds until state and local authorities granted the service $4.4 million to continue service until 2011.
During 2010, a third passenger car was added to all Music City Star trains to accommodate increasing ridership.
Overview
The Star is considered a "starter" project to demonstrate the effectiveness of commuter rail service to the metro Nashville area. Expansion plans include as many as six more lines, terminating in
GallatinGallatin is a city in and the county seat of Sumner County, Tennessee, United States, along a navigable tributary of the Cumberland River. The population was 23,230 at the 2000 census. Named for U.S...
,
ColumbiaColumbia is a city in Maury County, Tennessee, United States. The 2008 population was 34,402 according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. It is the county seat of Maury County....
,
MurfreesboroMurfreesboro is a city in and the county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 108,755 according to the United States Census Bureau's 2010 U.S. Census, up from 68,816 residents certified during the 2000 census. The center of population of Tennessee is located in...
,
DicksonDickson is a city in Dickson County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 12,244 at the 2000 census.-Demographics:...
,
SpringfieldSpringfield is a city in Robertson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 14,329 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Robertson County.-Geography:Springfield is located at ....
, and
ClarksvilleClarksville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States, and the fifth largest city in the state. The population was 132,929 in 2010 United States Census...
via
Ashland CityAshland City is a town in Cheatham County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,641 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Cheatham County.-History:Ashland City was created in 1856 as a county seat for the newly-established Cheatham County...
. All are planned to use existing
CSX TransportationCSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
railroad lines. The planned seven lines meet in central Nashville in a star formation, hence the name of the system, which also alludes to the city's many
country musicCountry music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
starsA celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
.
The Star is the first passenger train service of any kind for Nashville since the discontinuation of
Amtrak'sThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
FloridianThe Floridian was an Amtrak route that ran from Chicago to Miami and St. Petersburg, Florida. Its route mainly followed that of several former Louisville and Nashville Railroad passenger trains, including the Humming Bird...
in 1979. The
Nashville and Eastern lineThe Nashville and Eastern Railroad is a short line railroad which administers 137 miles of track between Nashville, Tennessee and Monterey, Tennessee, of which 130 miles are currently operational. The company is based in Lebanon, Tennessee....
, part of the former
Tennessee Central RailwayThe Tennessee Central Railway was founded in 1884 as the Nashville and Knoxville Railroad by Alexander S. Crawford. It was an attempt to open up a rail route from the coal and minerals of East Tennessee to the markets of the midstate, a service which many businessmen felt was not being adequately...
, had not seen passenger service for many decades prior to the Star, with the exception of excursion trains operated by the
Tennessee Central Railway MuseumThe Tennessee Central Railway Museum is a railroad museum located in Nashville, Tennessee.It is a small non-profit facility which is preserving the heritage of rail transport in Tennessee and the central South...
.
Rolling stock
| Model | Built | Number | Road Numbers |
F40PH-Amtrak NPCU Conversions:In later years, as Amtrak's F40PH fleet was being replaced by the newer GE Genesis-series locomotives, Amtrak converted a number of the retired units—generally ones with major mechanical problems limiting their value in the resale or lease marketplace—into "Non-Power...
|
|
3 |
121-122, 381 |
| Gallery Car |
|
11 |
|
The Music City Star regional rail service is currently served by three rebuilt
AmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
EMD F40PH-Amtrak NPCU Conversions:In later years, as Amtrak's F40PH fleet was being replaced by the newer GE Genesis-series locomotives, Amtrak converted a number of the retired units—generally ones with major mechanical problems limiting their value in the resale or lease marketplace—into "Non-Power...
locomotives and eleven former
Chicago MetraMetra is the commuter rail division of the Illinois Regional Transportation Authority. The system serves Chicago and its metropolitan area through 240 stations on 11 different rail lines. Throughout the 21st century, Metra has been the second busiest commuter rail system in the United States by...
coaches, all of which are
standard gaugeThe standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
. The coaches are
bi-level gallery carsThe bilevel car or double-decker coach is a type of rail car that has two levels of passenger accommodation, as opposed to one, increasing passenger capacity ....
with seating on both levels.
Lines
Currently there is only one line, with six more planned to other satellite cities around
NashvilleNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
.
The current line is 32 miles long with 6 stations. The line is mostly one track, so this limits arrivals and departures to how long each train has to wait for the other to pass. The first "starter line" cost $41 million, or just under $1.3 million per mile, which made it the most cost efficient commuter rail start-up in the nation. By comparison:
San Diego CoasterThe San Diego Coast Express Rail, or Coaster , is a commuter rail service that operates in the Central and Northern coastal regions of San Diego County, California, United States. The service is operated by TransitAmerica Services on contract with North County Transit District . The service has...
, $91 million for 41 miles;
Seattle SounderSounder commuter rail is a regional rail service operated by BNSF on behalf of Sound Transit. Service operates Monday through Friday during peak hours from Seattle, Washington, north to Everett and south to Tacoma. As of 2011, schedules serve the traditional peak commutes, with most trains running...
, $860 million for 33 miles; Salt Lake City
FrontRunnerFrontRunner is a commuter rail system operated by the Utah Transit Authority , serving the northern portion of the Wasatch Front from Salt Lake Central Station to Ogden Union Station. The system opened 26 April 2008...
, $360 million for 43 miles; and
New Mexico Rail Runner ExpressThe New Mexico Rail Runner Express is a commuter rail system serving the metropolitan areas of Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is administered by the New Mexico Department of Transportation and the Mid Region Council of Governments , a regional government planning association, while...
, $125 million for 29 miles.
East Corridor line
- Riverfront Station (Nashville)
Nashville Riverfront is a station on Nashville's regional rail line, the Music City Star. It currently serves as the western terminus for the line. The station is located at 108 South 1st Avenue in downtown Nashville near the Shelby Street Bridge...
- Donelson
Donelson is a station on Nashville's regional rail line, the Music City Star. Service began 18 September 2006.-External links:*...
- Hermitage
Hermitage is a station on Nashville's regional rail line, the Music City Star. Service began 18 September 2006.-External links:*...
- Mount Juliet
Mount Juliet is a station on Nashville's regional rail line, the Music City Star. Service began 18 September 2006.-External links:*...
- Martha
Martha is a station on Nashville's regional rail line, the Music City Star. Service began 18 September 2006.-External links:*...
- Lebanon
Lebanon is a station on Nashville's regional rail line, the Music City Star. Service began 18 September 2006.-External links:*...
Ridership
In the first quarter of 2011, average weekday ridership was 1000 passenger trips per day. The service's highest ridership on a single day occurred on February 19, 2011, when 1,339 passengers were carried. During the fiscal year covering the year ending on June 30, 2011, the service carried more than 250,000 people, the highest one-year total in its history.
May 2010 floods
On May 2, 2010, the East Corridor line was closed because of damage related to the floods that hit Middle Tennessee. Flood waters pushed tracks off a concrete trestle over Sinking Creek in downtown Lebanon. This trapped Star trains at their Lebanon storage yard, causing RTA to suspend service until the trestle was repaired. MTA substituted chartered buses instead, picking up passengers at all stations except Martha. The line was repaired in one week.
External links