Memphis — Focusing on Routes

Rail Transit Online, April 2002

Four corridors for a proposed light rail line linking downtown Memphis to the city’s international airport have been made public as part of an alternatives analysis, having been selected earlier over routes to the north and east based on residential and business density.  All would connect with the Memphis Area Transit Authority’s Main Street heritage trolley line extension now being built to the Medical Center area, but at different locations.  Modern LRVs would be employed rather than the antique rolling stock now in use.  Two of the alternatives would be built primarily in city streets and connect with the future trolley terminal at Madison and Cleveland streets.  Another would connect with the trolley at Vance, then transition to a Burlington Northern Santa Fe right-of-way until reaching the airport perimeter.  The fourth, and most interesting, option would begin with a trolley connection at Interstate 240, follow the freeway to the airport and duck into an unused tunnel built for a people mover that was never installed.  Planners say the tunnel could also be combined with any of the other routes but has only been included with the BNSF alternative because it would be completely on private ROW and would provide the fastest ride.  But at approximately $40 million per mile, it would also be the most expensive.  The cheapest option would cost about $20 million per mile.  So far, no construction funding has been identified and it’s not certain when the line would open.  LRT to the airport would be the first phase of a southeast corridor line, and the transit agency’s long-range plan includes a network of light rail lines in Memphis and Shelby County.