Tennessee RTA wins federal grant for new Music City Star station

The Regional Transportation Authority of Middle Tennessee (RTA) was recently awarded a $1.6 million federal grant to help pay for a new Music City Star station at the Hamilton Springs transit-oriented development under way in Lebanon, Tenn.

The Hamilton Springs Station will be the Music City Star's seventh regional rail station and serve as an additional stop for people in Lebanon and Wilson County's growing community. The station is currently in the design phase with construction expected to begin in spring 2015, Hamilton Springs officials said in a press release.

Hamilton Springs is the first community in Middle Tennessee that has planned, designed and constructed a traditional neighborhood "village" with residences and businesses centered by a train station, they said. It emphasizes the use of transportation modes other than cars, a key feature of transit-oriented developments.

Among the fastest-growing communities in Tennessee, Lebanon has experienced a 33 percent population increase since 1990.