Monorail between downtown and Murfreesboro? (2014, taxis, live)

[JMT]

"State senators may have qualms with the Amp, but they have green-lighted planning for another mass transit project — a monorail connecting Murfreesboro with downtown Nashville."

Read the news clip here:
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20...nclick_check=1

[septimus]

So we're going to dump a bunch of people at some central location in Nashville without some method of distributing them throughout the city..... Tennessee logic at its finest.

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by septimus

So we're going to dump a bunch of people at some central location in Nashville without some method of distributing them throughout the city..... Tennessee logic at its finest.

Not only that, but designing legislation to try to kill anything that might try to distribute them throughout the city...because it is a waste of money.

I guess we could have taxis line up at the station.

[BirdieBelle]

People in the comments LOVE the idea...

[MetropolitanTN]

I like the idea. I also like the AMP. I think both would be beautiful together.

[nashvols]

I think commuter rail is more feasible (if CSX can get on board -- perhaps offer to help increase their infrastructure and carrying capacity as an incentive) because the commuter rail lines come closer to the population centers. The rail line to Murfreesboro runs between I-24 and US 70S (Murfreesboro Rd), right through those communities. I think it would better serve those cities, as well as create an opportunity for development along the line that would allow some commuters to walk or bike to the stations (transit oriented development). Aside from that, it would be a much shorter drive to a centrally located train station than it would be to a monorail station out by the interstate.

I also think trains are a much better alternative to monorails. Most monorail lines I know of are relatively short (and not commuter oriented). They are also very expensive. I can't imagine what the bill is for a 30 mile line like one from Murfreesboro to Nashville.

Oh, and:



Sing it with me! Monorail! Monorail! Monorail!

[DonCorleone]

Has anyone contacted Leonard Nimoy about being a celebrity endorser of this project yet? [/Simpsons Reference]

I'm all for big ideas, but this one seems a bit pie-in-the-sky for Middlle TN. Agreed that it makes more sense to me to spend that money on commuter rail instead. I definitely think commuter rail would be a bigger success in that corridor than it currently is on the I 40 corridor. Guess I should read the article...maybe it says why commuter rail < MONORAIL.

And you have to love the "party of small government" state legislature nosing in on the AMP project and effectively putting a wet blanket on it (and "guns in parks" but that's another rant). I get the criticism of the AMP and if I lived along the corridor I would have concerns too. But as a dispassionate Sumner County resident, it seems like a great idea.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by DonCorleone

Has anyone contacted Leonard Nimoy about being a celebrity endorser of this project yet? [/Simpsons Reference]

I'm all for big ideas, but this one seems a bit pie-in-the-sky for Middlle TN. Agreed that it makes more sense to me to spend that money on commuter rail instead. I definitely think commuter rail would be a bigger success in that corridor than it currently is on the I 40 corridor. Guess I should read the article...maybe it says why commuter rail < MONORAIL.

And you have to love the "party of small government" state legislature nosing in on the AMP project and effectively putting a wet blanket on it (and "guns in parks" but that's another rant). I get the criticism of the AMP and if I lived along the corridor I would have concerns too. But as a dispassionate Sumner County resident, it seems like a great idea.

Yeah this is a ridiculously stupid idea. Sure, it's sexier than adding more buses, but the cost to build a monorail is astronomical. If they hadn't agreed to fund a few hundred thousand dollars to study this, I would've thought this proposal was just a joke. If they are thinking more of a high-speed maglev thing like they have in China, there's a reason the Chinese--with all their wealth and forced labor--have only about a 20-mile section (it connects the Shanghai airport to downtown Shanghai).

I think the thing to do is to upgrade the CSX tracks to accommodate high-speed passenger trains. Clearly, something needs to be done, and widening the interstate ad nauseum is fruitless.

[septimus]

Originally Posted by DonCorleone

Has anyone contacted Leonard Nimoy about being a celebrity endorser of this project yet? [/Simpsons Reference]

I'm all for big ideas, but this one seems a bit pie-in-the-sky for Middlle TN. Agreed that it makes more sense to me to spend that money on commuter rail instead. I definitely think commuter rail would be a bigger success in that corridor than it currently is on the I 40 corridor. Guess I should read the article...maybe it says why commuter rail < MONORAIL.

And you have to love the "party of small government" state legislature nosing in on the AMP project and effectively putting a wet blanket on it (and "guns in parks" but that's another rant). I get the criticism of the AMP and if I lived along the corridor I would have concerns too. But as a dispassionate Sumner County resident, it seems like a great idea.

I would rep you but I've repped you too much the city-data god's say.


I think these legislators need to take a trip to Boston and see the green line in action. I'll be honest, I was happy when I moved off the green line and on to the red line (true subway) but the green line worked and it actually made being a pedestrian easier because there was a "safe" stopping spot in the middle of the road when crossing.

[Hey_Hey]

I do like the idea that there are at least some state legislators that are willing to investigate mass transit. After the anti-AMP legislation this week any discussion of mass transit expansion by legislators is a huge positive.