Does passenger rail have a future in Nashville?
Rapid growth may force city to rethink public transportation
The Nashville, TN, metropolitan areas is the fifth fastest-growing area in the United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In each of the past three years it has seen population increases greater than 1.5 percent and it reached 1.315 million people this year. World Population Review estimates the city’s 2023 population at 715,913, third highest in the Southeast and 20th largest in the U.S.
I visited Nashville last week. It is easy to understand its appeal. It has plenty of nightlife and a booming economy. Although real estate prices are skyrocketing they remain below much of California and other boomtowns such as Austin, TX, and Seattle, WA. Newcomers are arriving from all parts of the U.S. at the rate of 100 a day.
However, Nashville has an Achilles heel, lack of good public transportation. The area is heavily car-dependent and likely to stay that way for the near future. Three major interstate highways surround downtown. Eighty percent of Nashvillians drive to work. The city ranks 25th in the U.S. for traffic congestion and 66th for the quality of its public transportation. It shares this problem with several other fast-growing Sunbelt cities including Raleigh, Orlando, and Dallas.
Nashville is a conservative red state capital. Much of the population is anti-transit despite the growing traffic problems. In 2018, Let’s Move Nashville, a plan to build a network of light rail and bus rapid transit (BRT) lines, was overwhelmingly defeated in a referendum.
One regional rail line, 26 local bus routes, and eight express bus lines comprise Nashville’s public transportation network, WeGo Public Transit. WeGo operates under the auspices of the Nashville Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Middle Tennessee Regional Transportation Authority. With the exception of a few connector routes, all WeGo bus and rail lines go to downtown Nashville.
The rail line, initially called the Music City Star but now the WeGo Star, runs between downtown Nashville and Lebanon, a distance of 31 miles, over tracks of the Nashville & Eastern Railroad. It makes five additional stops on route and it runs six round trips on weekdays, two of which terminate in Mount Juliet. The Star began running in 2006 using second-hand locomotives and passenger cars that are still in service.
Over its first 13 years, Star ridership grew steadily and peaked at 298,000 for 2018. However, passenger counts plummeted in 2020 due to COVID. Data for 2021 show only 57,500 riders. While there has been a substantial ridership uptick since, the line has a ways to go to reach pre-pandemic levels.
Besides being an interstate highway hub, Nashville is a rail freight hub. A major CSX classification yard is located here. Trunk lines radiate out to St. Louis, Chicago, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Jacksonville, New Orleans, and Memphis. These routes are very busy. That could be an obstacle for regional rail expansion, since CSX doesn’t want passenger trains interfering with its freight trains.
WeGo’s Riverfront Station has a choice location at the start of Broadway, Nashville’s ‘’main street.” It is within walking distance of the commercial district as well as the state capital, Ryman Auditorium, Bridgestone Arena, and many other attractions.
Currently the station has a single track. The adjacent Cumberland River limits the area available to add tracks and platforms for expansion. WeGo also needs a nearby daytime storage yard so trains don’t have to return to Lebanon to lay up and then return to Nashville for the evening rush.
The line needs additional frequencies: i.e., hourly service throughout the day; twice an hour in rush hour. It should replace aging equipment with self-propelled diesel multiple unit trains like those used in Austin, southern New Jersey, and Beaverton, OR. This applies to future regional rail routes, as well.
Going by online population, Nashville – Spring Hill and Nashville – Murfreesboro have the most potential for expansion routes. Both will need CSX’ blessing before serious work can be done. The railroads will need to be double tracked and a connector to the Murfreesboro line needs to be built, as well.
Light rail service along Broadway to Midtown Nashville could connect downtown with major healthcare facilities and universities. It could also serve as a core route for future expansions.
Given its projected growth, it is just a matter of time before Nashville acts upon the need for alternatives to driving such as regional rail and light rail People moving to the area are in demographic groups that tend to be more receptive to public transit. This could help build the political courage needed to reopen the public transportation conversation.
CSX can be a serious obstacle to new regional lines. However, recent disasters seem to be changing the conversation about railroads’ accountability. For example, Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-VT, wants to hold hearings on Precision Scheduled Railroading.
If Nashville concentrates on core routes such as these the likelihood of getting something done will improve significantly. The recently completed Long Island Rail Road third track project, which was initially shelved due to community opposition, got built because officials and planners addressed real community needs.
Nashville’s state, regional, and city officials should do likewise because the need for transit will only get bigger as the Music City continues to grow.
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