House Panel Kills Nashville-Murfreesboro Monorail Study

A monorail train rolls through the central business district of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tennessee State Senator Bill Ketron wanted TDOT to examine the cost of building a monorail in the median of Interstate 24, between Nashville and Murfreesboro. Ketron says traffic congestion and Rutherford County’s explosive population growth show the need for transportation alternatives along the busy corridor. Image: besopha/Flickr

A bill to study the feasibility of a monorail from Nashville to Murfreesboro appears to be dead for the year. State Senator Bill Ketron floated the idea of a monorail along Interstate 24, citing growing traffic congestion between Nashville and Rutherford County.

The Senate already passed his bill, directing the state Department of Transportation to examine the idea. But Wednesday, with no discussion, a House committee voted to send the measure to a study panel…effectively killing it.

The monorail proposal received national attention from publications like Wired and Slate. It also comes as lawmakers consider restrictions on Nashville’s proposed bus rapid transit line.