Tennessee
State Details
See Wikipedia; also see United States for information relating to the country as a whole, and the national operator Amtrak.
Maps
Tennessee is covered by the SPV "North America Railroad Atlas" volume Appalachia and Piedmont.
Rail Operators
- AMTRAK
- City of New Orleans from Chicago to New Orleans is the only AMTRAK route passing through Tennessee. The train leaves Kentucky at Fulton to enter Tennessee and runs south down the Mississippi valley to Memphis. After Memphis it leaves the state to enter Mississippi.
- WeGo Star
- WeGo Transit operates public transport services in the Nashville area, including the Nashville - Lebanon rail service, branded as WeGo Star (formerly Music City Star). Note that much of the WeGo Star route is also used by excursion trains from Tennessee Central Railway Museum.
Tourist Lines
- The Dollywood Express is a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge heritage railroad and amusement park attraction located in the Dollywood amusement park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. It runs along a 2.5 mile loop-to-loop track from the Village to the top of the mountain Dollywood borders to the north.
- The Lookout Mountain Incline Railway is a 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1435 mm) standard gauge inclined plane funicular railway leading to the top of Lookout Mountain from the historic St. Elmo neighbourhood of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Passengers are transported from St. Elmo's Station at the base, to Point Park at the mountain summit. The railway is approximately one mile (1.6 km) long.
- Tennessee Central Railway Museum is a railroad museum located in Nashville, Tennessee. Excursion trains run east from the Museum on Nashville and Eastern Railroad tracks to Lebanon and Watertown, approximately 23 miles (37km) away.
- Knoxville and Holston River Railroad operate the Three Rivers Rambler, an excursion train in Knoxville, Tennessee along the north bank of the Tennessee River. The train starts in Downtown Knoxville at their new depot located at University Commons and makes an 11 mile (17.7 km) round trip on the Knoxville and Holston River railroad to the “Three Rivers Trestle” where the French Broad and Holston Rivers join to form the Tennessee River.
Metro and light rail systems
Memphis
MATA Transit operates public transport in the Memphis area, including a small Trolley (on-street light rail) system. There are three lines. The 2.5 mi (4.0 km) Main Street line from Central Station to Hudson Transit Center, the 4.5 mi (7.2 km) Riverfront Loop and the 2.5 mi (4.0 km) Madison Avenue Line from Third Street to Cleveland Station. All are standard gauge with 600V DV overhead electrification.
The entire system is currently (September 2025) closed with the Main Street line replaced by a bus service described as the Trolley Bus.
See also UrbanRail.
Recent and Future Changes
Recent Changes
The Memphis Trolley system is closed with the Main Street line replaced by a bus service described as the Trolley Bus. Updated September 2025
Future Changes
None
Obscure or Sparse Passenger Services
See USA - Lines with Obscure or Sparse passenger services - Tennessee.
