Music City Star Strikes a Chord

On September 18, 2006, the Music City Star, a commuter railway in Nashville, Tennessee, opened for business. This article describes the 10-year project that has allowed a commuter train to run about 32 miles from Lebanon, Tennessee to downtown Nashville, and included construction of six stations along the way. The article also includes a number of facts about the construction project, and describes in detail the importance of creating the railway on right-of-way owned by the Nashville & Eastern Railroad Authority, which had light freight traffic. That allowed 12-hour construction windows, and even longer periods for bridge replacements. The author also describes engineering challenges, including a shoestring budget, station work, and additional six potential corridors under consideration.