TDOT agrees to pay for half of Music City Star deficit

Email | Print By John Rodgers

The Tennessee Department of Transportation agreed today to pay about $1 million to cover half of the Music City Star’s anticipated deficit.

TDOT spokeswoman Julie Oaks said the state agreed to cover half of the deficit contingent on the Regional Transportation Authority putting a management structure in place to deal with the funding issues and that the RTA and local governments would pay for the other half of the deficit, estimated at about $2 million.

“We’ve been involved from the beginning so I think we have a vested interest in the Music City Star, and obviously it is a valuable service for a lot of people,” Oaks said.

The RTA manages the Music City Star, which offers daily commutes from Wilson County to Nashville and back via train.

The agreement occurred at a RTA board meeting, in which TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely was present as well as other TDOT officials, Oaks said.