No. There is no train from BNA to downtown Nashville. There is no light rail, no subway, no dedicated airport rail of any kind. The WeGo Star commuter train serves a 32-mile corridor between Lebanon and downtown Nashville with seven stops, but it does not serve the airport. If you land at BNA and want to get to downtown by some form of rail, you cannot. Your options are rideshare, taxi, bus, or rental car.
This is not a new problem. Nashville has lacked a functioning intercity rail station since Union Station ceased passenger train operations in 1979. The city is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States without Amtrak service.
Why There Is No Rail Link
The short answer is that Nashville voters have blocked every large-scale transit plan that would have built one.
In 2018, then-Mayor Megan Barry put a $5.4 billion transit referendum called “Let’s Move Nashville” on the ballot. It included 26 miles of light rail along five corridors, 25 miles of bus rapid transit, and a downtown tunnel. One of the proposed light rail lines would have run along Murfreesboro Pike, directly connecting BNA to downtown. Voters rejected it by a 64-36 margin. BNA at the time was prepared to contribute $200 million to fund the portion of the line on airport property. The rest of the route would have needed city funding, which never materialized.
Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s “Choose How You Move” plan, a $3.1 billion initiative passed through a half-cent sales tax referendum in 2024, dropped light rail entirely. The new plan focused on improved bus service, bus rapid transit, sidewalks, and traffic signal upgrades. When asked why there was no light rail to the airport, O’Connell cited cost, noting that light rail along Murfreesboro Pike would run as much as $300 million per mile to build. The city decided that was not a trade-off worth making when compared to broader bus improvements across the city.
The Boring Company Tunnel
In July 2025, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and state transportation officials announced a partnership with Elon Musk’s the Boring Company to construct a privately funded underground tunnel connecting downtown Nashville to BNA. The proposal, called the Music City Loop, would span approximately 10 miles beneath Murfreesboro Pike and use a fleet of Tesla electric vehicles operating as a rideshare service inside the tunnel.
The project is funded entirely by private dollars and does not involve a tax increase. It is also not public transit in the traditional sense: there are no buses, no trains, no fixed transit stops with open access, and no announced fare structure at the time of writing. Nashville Mayor O’Connell was not present at the announcement and expressed concern about the project’s implications for Metro infrastructure. Democratic state legislators noted the tunnel would not serve the city’s broader public transportation needs. Whether it gets built, on what timeline, and at what cost to riders remains unclear as of early 2026.
What Actually Exists: The WeGo Bus
The only public transit option connecting BNA to downtown is WeGo Route 18, a bus line that runs every 30 minutes on weekdays and every hour on weekends. The fare is $2. The trip takes approximately 30 to 35 minutes. The bus drops you at James Robertson Parkway and 7th Avenue North, which is on the northern edge of downtown. From there you walk or take another ride to your hotel.
This is a legitimate option for solo travelers with light luggage and flexible timing. It is not a practical option for groups with checked bags or for anyone arriving late at night when bus service has ended.
The Bottom Line
Nashville has been trying to build meaningful transit to its airport for at least a decade. Voters rejected rail, the city chose a bus-focused plan, and a Boring Company tunnel with Teslas may or may not appear in the coming years. For now, you take an Uber, a taxi, or a bus. That is the reality.
Sources
- Let’s Move Nashville Wikipedia entry, with 2018 referendum results
- WPLN News, “Nashville transit funding changed fundamentally in 2025,” December 2025
- Nashville Banner, Mayor O’Connell transit proposal, April 2024
- Nashville PRIDE, Boring Company Music City Loop announcement, July 2025
- WPLN News, Nashville 2024 transit referendum vs 2018 comparison
- NewsChannel 5, “Light rail at Nashville International Airport could still happen,” March 2019
- WeGo Public Transit, Airport Transit Services page
- Visit Nashville, Travel and Transportation page