Could passenger rail return to Tennessee soon? We asked state leaders

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Back in the 1970s, Nashville residents could walk down to Union Station and hop on an Amtrak line that ran all the way down to Florida. These days, if you’d like to travel by train, you’ll have to drive out to West Tennessee and hop on the Amtrak line that stops in Dyersburg or Memphis.

But could access to passenger rail soon be changing in Tennessee?

On Thursday, the Tennessee Senate passed a bill requiring TDOT to submit a yearly report to the legislature on the state of passenger and freight rail efforts. Two years ago, the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations performed a study on expanding rail access.

With all of these studies, NewsChannel 5 decided to ask state leaders if there’s any interest in actually moving forward with plans.

State leaders weigh in

“Well I think in certain areas, it could be beneficial,” said Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, a Republican from Oak Ridge.

“Always feasible to look at what the cost is,” said Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton, a Republican from Crossville.

House Majority Leader William Lamberth expressed mild interest before changing the topic to potholes.

“We’ve got some severe damage from this winter. And so I think it’s fine to look at light rail and everything else, but I want to make sure TDOT’s stays laser-focused on getting our roads back up to the high quality we’re used to,” said Lamberth, a Republican from Portland.

Gov. Bill Lee showed a little more skepticism.

“I think it kind of depends on what these studies reveal, right? There have been studies. They’re inconclusive,” said Gov. Lee. a Republican from Williamson County. “I think the answer to that is yet to be determined.”

TDOT is standing by

It certainly doesn’t sound like anything is imminent.

Still, Rebekah Hammonds, a spokesperson for TDOT, says the department is doing a few things in case the urgency changes.

Hammonds tells NewsChannel 5 that TDOT is in active conversations with stakeholders, federal partners and neighboring states to explore future opportunities. Also, TDOT is a participant in a Federal Railroad Administration grant to study passenger rail from Atlanta to Chattanooga and Nashville to Memphis. She says the department is also looking at internal operations regarding rail, and comparing them to other states.

Essentially, if lawmakers want to get moving on rail, Hammonds says the department wants to be ready.

Appetite for alternatives

Even though leaders may not be ready, just yet, to barrel down the tracks, they also admit there’s an appetite for alternative options.

“There’s never a problem with looking at and trying to determine what the options should be for the future, as we are experiencing more growth than we ever have in our state’s history,” said Speaker Sexton.

“I think over the years we’re going to see increased interest in being able to move people from one state to another, in more efficient ways than we do now,” said Gov. Lee.