Could commuter trains be coming to Tennessee?

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - As the Tennessee state legislature works during the 2023 session, bills are piling up in committees.

The transportation committee is looking at Senate Bill 373 which would, among other things, start the process of having a portion of the Department of Transportation focus on commuter rail service in the state.

Chair Woman State Senator Becky Duncan Massey told WVLT News this is not an overnight process.

The bill is sponsored by State Senator Heidi Campbell, a Democrat from Nashville.

The bill is what Sen. Massey calls another tool in the tool belt to alleviate the state transportation woes.

The Commissioner of Transportation has sent a letter of Interest to the Federal Government, declaring the state’s interest in securing federal funding to research the viability of commuter rail in the state.

The rail, should it happen, would link the state’s largest cities by rail. The state wouldn’t add any more steel to the landscape, but instead, work with rail companies to use existing lines, but make sure to give the freight companies priority.

Massey adds this is a long process, and they cannot move forward until a Tasser study comes back in the summer for viability and sustainability.

“Even if we agree to do it and the Feds agree to help fund it, it’s still not going to happen overnight there are a ton of things that have to be worked out but we have to make sure this is something that doesn’t just work in the short term but something that works in the long term,” said Senator Massey.

Senate Bill 373 is in the Senate Transportation Committee and the House transportation subcommittee.

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