• Nashville TN: Music City Star

  • General discussion of passenger rail systems not otherwise covered in the specific forums in this category, including high speed rail.
General discussion of passenger rail systems not otherwise covered in the specific forums in this category, including high speed rail.

Moderators: mtuandrew, gprimr1

  by byte
 
I'd moreso chalk that up to equipment/ticketing limitations than management. Bigger agencies have enough equipment floating around where they can tack on an extra car or three to accomodate the larger crowds, or even run extra trains. MCS doesn't have that option since their equipment is so limited. Three locomotives and a total bilevel count not even into the double-digits are a great start for a line which is testing the waters of commuter rail feasibility in a city not used to it, but if you want to carry the crowds like a well-established system, well, you have to be well-established.

That being said, it probably bodes better for MCS that there were 250 left of the platform due to a sold-out train rather than there being 250 empty seats on the train. The demand is there.
  by superbad
 
I heard that in exception of the cars metra bought back from VRE, that all the other ex-metra and now ex-VRE bilevels went to nashville. Does this mean that the star needs more cars or they might be adding trains to the existing line?
  by GWoodle
 
superbad wrote:I heard that in exception of the cars metra bought back from VRE, that all the other ex-metra and now ex-VRE bilevels went to nashville. Does this mean that the star needs more cars or they might be adding trains to the existing line?
AFAIK the ex-VRE cars may be used as parts cars for the existing 5-6 car operating fleet. It's also possible it will take a year or so for the cars to be repainted & modified some for the MCS scheme. (IIRC most of the rebuilding comes from rewiring the cars. The electronic controls are a lot smaller now)

This week the MCS reported record ridership due to the gas shortage since the hurricane shut down the Colonial gas pipeline. Last Friday, the AAA reported 85% of stations to be OUT of Gas. Today, 85% may have been restored.

In the current operating scheme, the MCS operates 2 trainsets. Adding a 3rd train would require some sidings to be built that would allow trains to pass. AFAIK there are no plans for this at this time.

Something the MCS must still deal with is new management. The state wants the MCS/RTA to be operated by the MTA (Nashville metro bus). This is to correct the $1.7mil budget shortfall. In the long run, the MCS needs some long term dedicated local funding source. With sales taxes , hotel & taxi taxes so high, I'm not sure what's left to tax.
  by Otto Vondrak
 
Why are these numbers so alarmingly low? Poor scheduling? Bad location for stations? Service doesn't extend far enough? Too far?
  by GWoodle
 
Otto, if you could come & visit Nashville some time a lot of your questions would be answered.

1) The schedule calls for 2 short train sets in the AM or PM. The only "extra" runs are Friday nite. The Friday nite trains may not run in the winter due to poor ridership. For the 40 mile trip, travel times are too slow.
2) The downtown station near the riverfront is not near "downtown Nashville". Riders board a bus to get to work & finish the trip. I'm not sure if the suburban stations are in the best location for walkup traffic. They do have large parking lots with access to the streets in the area. There is no suburban feeder bus to take riders to the train.
3) I wish the service could have been extended to the south & east side of Lebanon where the track crosses under I-40. Making the train visible from the Interstate could attract more riders. If I had my way, the train would have a new ROW from downtown Lebanon to this area. This is also where the MCS shops are located.
4) I expect the biggest boost came when gas prices were over $4./gal if you could find it. We'll see how many new riders enjoy the convenience of the train over the clogged interstate.
5) The best new news may be the takeover of the MCS by the MTA. This puts all transit in Nashville under the same management. There must be some savings over having separate agencies.
6) Historically, Nashville doesn't have much of a history of public transit. AFAIK, the L&N never provided any commuter services. The other corridors are controlled by heavy CSX freight. It will take years for the MCS to catch on here.
7) I'd like to invite all the Railroad.Net folks to come visit Nashville & ride our little train
  by Otto Vondrak
 
GWoodle wrote:Otto, if you could come & visit Nashville some time a lot of your questions would be answered...

7) I'd like to invite all the Railroad.Net folks to come visit Nashville & ride our little train
It's on my list! Maybe with the MTA taking control, they can iron out some of the "bugs."

-otto-
  by ne plus ultra
 
GWoodle wrote: 1) The schedule calls for 2 short train sets in the AM or PM. The only "extra" runs are Friday nite. The Friday nite trains may not run in the winter due to poor ridership. For the 40 mile trip, travel times are too slow.
I noticed something on the Tennesseean website mentioning the Friday evening train. Is that reinstated after being dropped for the winter?

The article's poverty leads directly to the poorly-thought through comments. The article only mentions the 7:40 arrival of the inbound, and the 9:30 departure, as if the expectation was that people would ride down for an hour and a half.

But surely the idea is that 9:30 is the optimal time for getting many people home who came downtown at somepoint during the day, and to have a 9:30 train, you have to have a train come inbound, and so the 7:40 is pretty good, because it may pick up some late reverse commuters going back HOME downtown.

Too bad the MCS couldn't have worked the reporter a little harder. All it took was another sentence of explanation and the times of the late afternoon trains to make that a much more useful article.
  by ne plus ultra
 
By the way, the spring Star newsletter shows that monthly average ridership peaked in July and August at nearly 900. However, 2009 figures are nearly identical to 2008 for the first three months.

That's probably a little better than would be expected, because ridership often goes down in a recession. But the Star definitely didn't hold onto everyone it attracted in summer 2008. In fact, the graph as a whole is quite flat -- monthly averages in 2006 were between 500 and 560. By summer '07, they had already plateaued at a little over 600, and setting aside last summer's gas-related increase, they remain there.

At this point, the only things that I could see making a major difference would be transit-oriented development at one spot or another -- either a new company moving near the downtown station, or a major new residential development at one of the suburban stations. Another evening run would help, since it's difficult to commit to an option that won't allow you to leave work later than 5:30. Maybe a 7:30 run that carried people working late and some who grabbed a relatively quick dinner or drink after work. But no doubt that's pretty expensive.
  by GWoodle
 
ne plus ultra wrote:By the way, the spring Star newsletter shows that monthly average ridership peaked in July and August at nearly 900. However, 2009 figures are nearly identical to 2008 for the first three months.

That's probably a little better than would be expected, because ridership often goes down in a recession. But the Star definitely didn't hold onto everyone it attracted in summer 2008. In fact, the graph as a whole is quite flat -- monthly averages in 2006 were between 500 and 560. By summer '07, they had already plateaued at a little over 600, and setting aside last summer's gas-related increase, they remain there.

At this point, the only things that I could see making a major difference would be transit-oriented development at one spot or another -- either a new company moving near the downtown station, or a major new residential development at one of the suburban stations. Another evening run would help, since it's difficult to commit to an option that won't allow you to leave work later than 5:30. Maybe a 7:30 run that carried people working late and some who grabbed a relatively quick dinner or drink after work. But no doubt that's pretty expensive.

I suspect the 900 figure for the summer includes the high price of gas at the time. Prices peaked at $4.00. We did have a week after the hurricanes of product shortage. Our gas comes up the pipe from Birmingham. Atlanta is on the same pipe.

The Friday evening train allows one to linger downtown on Broadway & other venues before going home.
Growth from here on is going to be tough. It does help some to have one agency handle the bus/rail transfer.

BTW the stimulus bill may have $3.5mil to rebuild a F40 & some more money to rebuild/paint some gallery cars.
In order to run more trains, some sidings would need to be built/rebuilt to permit meets on the single track line.
The new Martha station has been needed for some time but was delayed due to TDOT roadwork. The MCS operates on about a mile of "new" track here with a new rail bridge over US70.

I see nothing new about the Friday Nite Train. This may be an effort by a newbie reporter. With the 3rd of July coming up, we'll see how the MCS handles this year's Fireworks Train. I bet they will run a special due to legal Friday holiday.
  by GWoodle
 
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090 ... rail+lines

Some movement for "Regional Rail".

Having some local support for transit will be a big step forward. No word on what tax they will use to fund it.
Rental cars & hotel already taxed for the new Convention Center
Could depend on how much the local 10% share comes to.
  by jtbell
 
I may drive from SC to Nashville to railfan the Music City Star sometime during the next couple of weeks, whenever the weather looks like it's going to be clear for a while. Any ideas for motels or good places for pictures?

I'm a Motel 6 / Super 8 kind of guy (i.e. cheap but clean). Noise doesn't bother me. On our drives out West via I-40, my wife and I have spent the night at one of the Lebanon exits, and at the Old Hickory Blvd. exit, where you get off for the Hermitage, so I know about those areas. Any other good places to look? I'd probably spend a couple of nights there.
  by GWoodle
 
jtbell wrote:I may drive from SC to Nashville to railfan the Music City Star sometime during the next couple of weeks, whenever the weather looks like it's going to be clear for a while. Any ideas for motels or good places for pictures?

I'm a Motel 6 / Super 8 kind of guy (i.e. cheap but clean). Noise doesn't bother me. On our drives out West via I-40, my wife and I have spent the night at one of the Lebanon exits, and at the Old Hickory Blvd. exit, where you get off for the Hermitage, so I know about those areas. Any other good places to look? I'd probably spend a couple of nights there.
Another area to check out may be the Opryland area just off Briley Parkway. Briley & Elm Hill Pike is in the airport area.
There's some bigger name outfits that have eateries nearby & shopping. You can always compare your price th the Gaylord Package price (they do include show & museum tickets).

The MCS does have a website so you can get ticket & time information. When the MCS stops running, you may catch some N&E action or go see what's up on CSX.

One trip you could make is from the downtown Riverfront station to Mt Juliet then take the return train (same one) back to riverfront. $5 one-way, tickets from the machine.
  by ne plus ultra
 
This article:

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090 ... muter+rail

seems to suggest that a version of the MCS would stop in Lakewood during a 2-week experiment. I say "version" because Lakewood isn't on the existing route. The brief article mentions the fact that the tracks in Lakewood connect with the tracks used by MCS.

How would they do this? With additional equipment?
  by GWoodle
 
ne plus ultra wrote:This article:

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090 ... muter+rail

seems to suggest that a version of the MCS would stop in Lakewood during a 2-week experiment. I say "version" because Lakewood isn't on the existing route. The brief article mentions the fact that the tracks in Lakewood connect with the tracks used by MCS.

How would they do this? With additional equipment?
The Lakewood/Old Hickory route runs on a single track branch from the existing N&E/MCS track. The track itself should be in good shape but would need upgrading for new signals, gates & etc.

AFAIK the MCS uses 2 sets of equipment. It does have a stimulus grant to rebuild 1 loco & some cars. (The loco rebuild could be similar to the Metra F40 program). The MCS did get some gallery cars from VRE. It may be fairly easy to add some "stations" along the single-track line. The fun would be to have some passing track from the junction to downtown. I know of a location near Old Hickory & Lebanon in front of Hobby Lobby that would be a great place to put a station & a neat place for railfans to get some good photos. The railroad curves around the intersection of the 2 main streets.
For a "demonstration" the existing MCS crews may already be qualified to run the N&E branch. For a demonstration, it would be a simple as "run a train".
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