Festivals and other large events are coming back in a big way. And passenger rail is getting more attention in Tennessee. What does this mean for TARP?

For starters, we would like to staff a table at the 30th Annual Newbern Depot Days on Saturday, September 17th.

If you live in West Tennessee and would like to help us meet and greet the public with information passenger rail and the possibility of expansion, please reply and let us know.

Also, if you know of other large events in your area and would like to host a TARP outreach table, please mention that as well.

Are there any TARP "old timers" out there who remember the dark days of the early 1990's?

In those days rail passengers in Memphis boarded the City of New Orleans at a spooky platform behind the beaten and battered Central Station. Passengers who "enjoyed" that experience likened it to being in a scary movie!

While TARP members were pushing the City of Memphis and other stakeholders to transform Central Station into a viable facility (which they did about 9 years later!), a lesser-known problem was being solved in Dyer County.

Passengers boarding the City of New Orleans at Dyersburg did so at another dark location. The "station" was a grade crossing at 619 E. Cedar Street under a lonely street lamp. As far as any of us can recall, there wasn't a designated parking area and there was very little signage to note the presence of Amtrak in this location.

The situation changed dramatically when civic leaders in nearby Newbern started work on their historic depot. In September, 1992, Newbern replaced Dyersburg as Amtrak's rural stop in the northwestern corner of the Volunteer State.

With a handsome depot, a climate-controlled waiting room, restrooms, designated parking, a nearby police department, and sufficient lighting, Amtrak's patronage at Newbern immediately increased twofold over the former stop at Dyersburg.

Those of us who were active in TARP remember how pleased and excited we were to see this small, yet vital improvement. It was 30 years ago, but seems like only yesterday!

We received a letter from Mr. Wiley Clark of Lake Cormorant, Mississippi.

Mr. Clark is concerned and frustrated over changes made at Memphis Central Station that are not friendly to area residents who choose Amtrak.

The redevelopment of the Central Station property eliminated free parking and relocated the local police precinct.

Amtrak passengers who park at the station are charged $24 per day by MATA, which owns the parking lot. This is substantially more than the cost of parking at the airport!

Mr. Clark asks if we, the members of TARP, can propose and advocate for a more practical and less expensive solution for the benefit of area residents who ride Amtrak.

Should we press for a lower-cost parking solution at or near Central Station?

Or, should we push to have an alternative Amtrak station in the greater Memphis area with free or lower cost parking?

Or, how about proposing a suburban station?

Send us an e-mail and tell us what you think.

TARP congratulates CARTA and the City of Chattanooga on a huge milestone!

The downtown Electric Shuttle has been in service for 30 years and carried nearly 24 million passengers!

On June 16, 1992 Chattanooga dedicated the start if a new electric bus service connecting the Tennessee Aquarium to the famous Chattanooga Choo-Choo at Market Street Station.

The service has expanded to serve the historic St. Elmo community along with the vibrant North Shore district. The routes connect major tourist attractions, shopping, dining, residential areas, public buildings, and two large parking garages on a simple and convenient route structure.

Tourists and residents benefit from the service, which has helped broaden the appeal of Chattanooga's thriving downtown business district.

We hope that other Tennessee cities will follow Chattanooga's lead. We love to see transit systems deliver economic results and investment returns while promoting clean air and fuel conservation!

Effective Tuesday, July 5, WeGo Public Transit is expanding commuter bus service on routes 87 Gallatin/Hendersonville, 89 Springfield/Joelton, and 94 Clarksville.

Each weekday, these routes will have an additional trip to Nashville in the morning and an extra trip from Nashville in the evening. The commuter bus service is operated by Gray Line under a contract with the Regional Transportation Authority of Middle Tennessee (RTA). Below are the additional trip times:

Source: www.mainstreetclarksville.com

Amtrak service sponsored by the Commonwealth of Virginia will one day reach East Tennessee.

In the meantime, the Commonwealth is expanding service to Roanoke with an additional round trip.

Effective July 11th, Amtrak will offer mid-day schedules to supplement the existing early morning northbound and evening southbound schedules.

Click on the link below to read the press release from Amtrak:

The two Amtrak trains that are more popular among Tennesseans will return to daily service in the early Fall.

The Crescent (New York to New Orleans), which has been on a five-day-per-week schedule since the Spring of 2021 will return to a daily schedule on October 4th. Tennesseans who ride this route usually board and/or arrive at Atlanta or Birmingham.

The City of New Orleans (Chicago to New Orleans), which has also been on a five-day-per-week schedule, will return to daily service on October 8th. This train serves Memphis and Newbern-Dyersburg directly, and some Tennesseans utilize the stop at Fulton, Kentucky.

We are glad to see a plan for daily service returned; however, we would also like to see full-service dining restored on both of the routes as well.