Welcome Music City Star Riders!

This new addition to the Music City Star Web site is designed just for you. It’s a user-generated page where the stories and photos come from actual riders — so you can share the experiences of your daily commute on the Music City Star with your fellow commuters and friends. We invite you to include other commuter-related activities that other iRiders might find valuable or just otherwise enjoy. On this page, you will also find the latest information about upcoming iRider events and special offers.

Now that the weather is warmer we have resumed our Friday night bicycle ride and dinner from Hermitage which we call “Chains & Trains.” If you will recall we ride into Nashville on bikes Friday afternoon and then take the 9:30 Friday night Music City Star back to Donelson. This last Friday night was our first ride of the season, and we had a great time thanks to your staff. The conductor was just super to all of us on board. He dimmed the lights so we could better see outside. He called it the “ghost train” with the lights low. The picture was made though the train window as we leaving the downtown station. The Shelby Street bridge was really beautiful, and I thought I would share it with you and our compliments for great service.

– Tim “Bubba” Garrett

I was out riding my bike today (March 2, 2010) and made this picture this afternoon at Post #9 behind the Clover Bottom Mansion.

– Tim “Bubba” Garrett

Friday night we took the Music City Star to the Christmas parade with some our bicycling riding buds from Donelson and Hermitage. We really had a great time.

Thank you for the complimentary hot chocolate and cider at the stationhouse. It realy was great on such a cold night. Your staff’s hospitality was outstanding. The young folks were singing Christmas carols inside while we were waiting on the departure time of the train. Thanks again and Merry Christmas.

– Tim “Bubba” Garrett

Over the weekend, I rode the Music City Star for the first time and LOVED it!!! I live in Murfreesboro and drove to Lebanon to ride the Game Day Express. The staff was very friendly, the ride was smooth and very punctual. It eliminated all of the hassle of fighting traffic and finding parking at the Titans game. I am now looking for other opportunities to ride the train since it was so much fun.

Although I realize this may not be easy to do, but I would love to see a route from Murfreesboro to Nashville. Thanks again for a great first-time experience.

– David Read, Murfreesboro, TN

Recently, I was a co-winner of an essay contest for Harpeth Bike Shop in Franklin. They had asked on their Web site for entries on “What is your favorite bike ride?” That was not a hard decision for me. It is a bike ride that Paula, my fiancée, and myself do on Friday nights. … Thanks to the Music City Star’s Friday night train run, we are able to really start the weekend off in grand fashion.

Although this is our favorite ride, it only begins to describe our appreciation for the service of RTA/MTA. … We use your beautiful, safe and climate-controlled downtown terminal facility to catch a bus back near where we both live in Hermitage. We often ride the fast Opry Mills Express, and put our bikes on the easy to use front bike rack. MTA and the Express bus provides us with a safe, swift, inexpensive, clean, and easy way to get ourselves and our bikes back home.

We want to thank you for the fine service you provide us with the Music City Star, the beautiful new terminal, and the MTA bus service.

Thanks again,

– Tim Garrett, Hermitage
Reprinted from the Fall Star Tracks newsletter

A great day last Friday for the 3rd anniversary. I rode down on the Star from Lebanon and visited the event. It was well done, and presented an opportunity for folks who never ride the Star to experience it and the downtown area.

There was a English guy on board, and as I am from England (43 years ago) I chatted to him. Apparently, his wife decided to go with her female friends back in the UK to Australia for 2 weeks. He sat around the house the first day with nothing to do, and after watching TV for 12+ hours, decided he needed to get away for his sanity. He found a deal on the Internet for a flight to Nashville.

Looking to see as much of Nashville as a tourist, he decided to ride the 3:20 pm train down from Lebanon on that day (Friday). I introduced him to Paul Ballard at the Riverfront Station when we arrived. The guy was totally impressed with the train ride and how friendly the folks and the staff were on the train. He left here with a good impression of Nashville, and no doubt will pass the word along about the Star to his friends who may decide to come to Nashville for a vacation. In our conversations onboard, I got the distinct impression that the Music City Star and the ease of riding into Nashville for a few hours is what sold him on Nashville.

A plus for the MTA and the Music City Star. He also mentioned that never in a 1000 years would he have ever met the head of the city transport system in person, and have the opportunity to make a comment on the service... Another plus for Nashville.

– Dave Miller

Thank you for the Music City Star/Frist promotion.

Friday was my birthday. We took the train downtown then took the #3 bus to Flemings. After dinner we had two fliers for the Frist event and that’s where we headed. We handed the attendants the RTA flier and we were let right in. Absolutely no hassle or wait. I was extremely impressed.

Please forward this thank you to whoever was integral in the collaboration between RTA and the Frist. If RTA and the Frist do this again on a Friday, “husband-unit” and I will definitely be on the train.

Take care.

p.s. Great Band… WOW.

– Viv Pocek, Hermitage

A BIG THANK YOU for the wonderful night we had at the FRIST Center this past Friday. My husband took the train from Lebanon to Nashville and used the special RTA flyers to gain admission to the Frist Center. We viewed all the art work and helped ourselves to snacks and drinks as we sat on the lawn and watched the amazing outdoor concert! It was wonderful. Afterwards, we made reservations at the Spaghetti Factory and later went to an ice cream parlor (Mike’s) and got the biggest banana split I’ve ever seen. My husband and I shared the banana split as we rode in a horse-drawn carriage around Nashville. It was a truly wonderful evening. The train came and picked us up on time, and we had a very enjoyable ride home.

This was my first time utilizing this wonderful partnership between RTA and Frist, and I look forward for many, many more memorable experiences!!!!

Thank you, again, sooooo much!!!!!

– Melinda Crutchfield, Nashville

I had the pleasure of being a passenger on the Music City Star as the time trial was tested yesterday for the temporary Lakewood stop. The train was extremely clean, the staff friendly, kind and courteous. The most impressive aspects, however, were the levels of professionalism and knowledge executed through operations as the route progressed from Lakewood to Riverfront. I saw and heard people who knew their jobs interacting with people in other locations who had the same intentions and goals. The communications were excellent, safety the priority and comfort and timeliness the objective. Terry Bebout and the operating staff were right on schedule both on the departure from Lakewood in the morning and the return from Riverfront to Lakewood in the afternoon.

I chose to ride in order to speak intelligently and with experience when talking with others in our community. The experience could not have been more impressive. Doing what you say has such value. The Music City Star demonstrated yesterday the ability to produce. I will do my part to share my experience with our community in order to have a successful trial in October.

So often we only hear the negative things when operations do not go as planned. My congratulations to you all for having a dedicated, knowledgeable and trained staff that executes the plan, according to plan!

An excellent ride! Many thanks.

Looking forward to the future,

– Cathy McKellar