As the crow flies, it’s over 450 miles. Driving yields over 500 miles and nearly an eight-hour trek from Bristol to Memphis, if traffic isn’t a huge problem. But with Tennessee’s rapid growth, it is.

“Traffic is not fun, and it’s not getting better,” Sen. Jon Lundberg (R-Bristol) said. “It’s not going to get better.” Enter passenger rail. It wouldn’t be a massive fix, but leaders say it could be a great start while also providing a potential massive economic boost.

“It’s primarily through tourism, through job creation in the entertainment industry and through just the multiplier of activities,” Souther n Rail Commission member Toby Bennington said.

Bennington, a one-time Memphis resident, is one of five Alabama members on the Southern Rail Commission, an organization that essentially acts as a facilitator between all the different parties required to make passenger rail happen.