*** Welcome to piglix ***

Music City Star

Music City Star
Musiccitystar.jpg
MCSLineup01 jpg 79417.jpg
Three EMD F40PH locomotives in use by the Music City Star lined up within the Lebanon, Tennessee yards. The third F40PH on the far right is painted in Amtrak Pacific Surfliner scheme.
Overview
Owner Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT)
Locale Nashville Metropolitan Area
Transit type Commuter rail
Number of lines 1
Number of stations 6
Daily ridership 1,225 (FY 2011)
Operation
Began operation September 18, 2006 (2006-09-18)
Operator(s) Tennessee Regional Transportation Authority (RTA)
Reporting marks NRTX
Number of vehicles 4 Locomotives
7 Coaches
Train length 3 Multi-level cars
Technical
System length 32 miles (51.5 km)
Track gauge 4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge)
System map
Distance
Station
0 mi Riverfront
Connection to CSX
Briley Parkway
10 km
6 mi
Donelson
Stones River
15 km
9 mi
Hermitage
19 km
12 mi
Mount Juliet
25 km
16 mi
Martha
28 km
17 mi
Hamilton Springs (Proposed)
Lebanon Pike
32 km
20 mi
Lebanon

The Music City Star (reporting mark NRTX) is a commuter rail service running between Nashville and Lebanon, Tennessee. The service uses the existing track of the Nashville and Eastern Railroad. The line currently has six stops: Riverfront Station, Donelson, Hermitage, Mount Juliet, Martha (State Route 109 and U.S. Highway 70), and Lebanon. The operation covers 32 miles (51 kilometres) of rail line. Service began on September 18, 2006.

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 Gallatin, Columbia, Murfreesboro, Dickson, Springfield, and Clarksville via Ashland City. All are planned to use existing CSX Transportation 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 music stars.

The Star is the first passenger train service of any kind for Nashville since the discontinuation of Amtrak's Floridian in 1979. The Nashville and Eastern line, part of the former Tennessee Central Railway, had not seen passenger service for many decades prior to the Star, with the exception of excursion trains operated by the Tennessee Central Railway Museum and the Broadway Dinner Train.


...
Wikipedia

...