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Tennessee’s Southeast location places it among many major transportation routes. In fact the top
major cities, Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga all contain major highway, rail, water,
and air transportation routes.
Several interstate highways pass through the Volunteer State. East to west interstates include
I-40, which crosses the entire state from the North Carolina to the Arkansas border, and has bypasses
I-140, I-240, I-440, and I-640; I-24 and its bypass I-124; and I-26. North to south Interstate
highways include I-55 and spur I-155; I-65; I-69 and I-269; I-75 and I-275; and I-81. In addition,
there are many U.S. and state highways.
Aviation is well served in the Volunteer State. Tennessee contains 83 public use airports in 77
cities, as well as 218 private airports. Memphis
International Airport (MEM) serves over 10.8 million passengers annually, is a leader in general
aviation, and remains the world leader in air cargo; approximately 3.6 million tons (3.2 million
metric tons) of cargo passed through the airport in 2005. Nashville International Airport (BNA) serves over 9.4 million passengers
annually. Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport
serves the Chattanooga area. Knoxville McGhee Tyson
Airport (TYS) in Knoxville serves over 1.6 million passengers annually. Tri-Cities Regional Airport (TRI) serves the Tri-Cities of Bristol, Kingsport, and
Johnson City. McKellar-Sipes Regional
Airport in Jackson serves the geographical center of West Tennessee.
Communities throughout the Volunteer State are served by public transportation options. The state’s
four largest cities, Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga all provide larger mass transit
operators. Memphis offers the Memphis Area Transit
Authority (MATA), the largest public transit operator in the state. MATA boasts a daily ridership
of 40,000 passengers throughout Memphis and surrounding communities, and offers 244 transit vehicles
including vintage rail trolleys, paratransit vans, and conventional accessible buses. The
Nashville-Davidson County metropolitan area is served by the Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), which offers regular bus, shuttle,
and paratransit services. Nashville also offers Tennessee’s first commuter train, in the form of
Music City Star. Chattanooga is served by
the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation
Authority (CARTA), which provides fixed route transit services to Hamilton County, as well as
paratransit services and shuttles, and even an incline railway to Lookout Mountain. Knoxville Area Transit (KAT) serves the city of Knoxville with approximately 80
buses, paratransit vehicles, and downtown trolleys, with peak service on 28 routes.
Passenger rail service in Tennessee is provided by Amtrak,
with the City of New Orleans route connecting New Orleans, Louisiana to Chicago, Illinois,
with stops in Newbern and Memphis. Additional excursion trains exist, such as the Tennessee Valley Railroad.
Freight railroad covers 3,200 miles (5,150 kilometers) in Tennessee, with 2,600 miles (4,184
kilometers) operated by larger railroads, and numerous short line operators making up about 600 miles
(966 kilometers) of railroad. Class I lines include CSX,
Norfolk Southern, and Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF).
Tennessee benefits from an impressive water transportation network. While the Volunteer State lies
away from major bodies of water, it possesses several inland river and water systems, 1,062 miles
(1,709 kilometers) of which are navigable. Major river systems include the Mississippi, Tennessee,
and Cumberland Rivers, and their respective tributaries. Memphis, located on the Mississippi River,
is ranked second in the nation’s inland ports. Additionally, Tennessee is linked with the Gulf of
Mexico via the Tennessee-Tombigbee
(Tenn-Tom) Waterway. The Tenn-Tom Waterway, completed in 1984, is a 234 mile (377 kilometer)
north-south route for vessels between the Tennessee River and the Gulf of Mexico by way of Alabama’s
Black Warrior River. The waterway’s northern terminus is on the Tennessee River near its shared
borders with Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi.
Intercity bus lines serving Tennessee include Greyhound
and Trailways.
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