The Tennessee Department of Transportation included the Memphis to Bristol Rail connection, often called the Trans-Tennessee Rail Connection, as one of several potential rail corridors that were identified in the 2003 Tennessee Rail Plan. The department recently completed a multimodal long-range plan to guide investments over the next twenty-five year period, which incorporates the results of the rail plan.

Currently there is track running from Memphis to Nashville along CSX lines and from Nashville to Monterey along the Nashville and Eastern Railroad. The total capital expenditure for the remainder of the project was estimated to be $1.5 billion dollars. The cost benefit was identified at 1.1.
Subsequent analysis conducted by the University of Tennessee in 2005 verified the benefit to cost as 1.1. Our studies to date indicate that however, as a stand alone project, the Trans-Tennessee rail route is unlikely to generate a benefit stream sufficient to justify necessary expenditures, at least in the near term.

The department is currently involved in a I-40/I-81 corridor study which includes rail and highways thru the State of Tennessee. You can e-mail Teresa Estes at teresa.estes@state.tn.us for more information concerning this study.

Knoxville was listed as a stop on the rail plan study for passenger rail, but no definite area for a station was identified. Rail freight was studied, but auto-trains were not.

The Rail Plan can be found on the Department web site at (link...)

If I can be of any further assistance please let me know.

Bob Pack

Robert F. Pack Sr.
Transportation Manager 2
Office of Rail and Water
Suite 1800 J.K. Polk Bldg.
505 Deaderick St.
Nashville, TN. 37243
615-741-1341