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In February, Nashville’s Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) plans to begin building a $37.6 million, 32-mile commuter-rail line connecting Nashville to eastern suburbs.

Scheduled to open in spring 2005, the Nashville-to-Lebanon, Tenn., East Corridor Alignment is the first of five planned lines. Operating over Nashville and Eastern Railroad Authority’s (NERA) tracks using commuter-rail vehicles purchased from Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corp., the route is expected to serve six stations, as well as carry 2,000 passengers daily by 2012.

RTA is developing the project with local suburbs, NERA and Nashville Eastern Rail Corp., and receiving funds from the Federal Transit Administration, Federal Highway Administration, Tennessee Department of Transportation and local jurisdictions.

The metropolitan Nashville area’s population is expected to grow 42 percent by 2025.