State Senator Bill Ketron, who was on WGNS recently, indicated that in conversations in which he has had with officials from CSX, they are open to determining whether or not commuter rail tracks could be constructed on their land between Murfreesboro and Nashville.

As you recall, Senator Ketron earlier proposed a $1.3-billion monorail over that same 32-mile stretch. The Murfreesboro Republican stressed that opening discussions about mass transportation railroad tracks on CSX owned property would not halt his research into monorail service.

With the population explosion, CSX and other investors are seeing there is money to be made.

While on WGNS, Ketron indicated that he would follow the course that proved best for the citizens of this area.

In fact, he is also looking into "high occupancy toll lanes" on I-24. In other states, those lanes are available at no fee for multi-passenger vehicles, or at a fee for others. In reality, this is similar to the HOV lanes along parts of I-24 that are enacted during drive-times.

NewsRadio WGNS will keep you apprised of any meetings that might develop between state government and CSX Railroad.