Careful what you ask for.

Whenever people talk about the future of this county and its growth, one dream keeps getting mentioned. Fast Rail! They always bring up the glory that is the fast rail for Lebanon.

Sadly the 'glory' that is fast rail is falling short of any projected number, and may cost the area a lot of money during these troubled economic times.

The Music City Star's money problems can be traced to its first year of operation, when passenger ticket sales came in $800,000 below projections and unanticipated costs, including high insurance premiums, drained its budget.

Now, as its parent agency scrambles to fill a $1.7 million hole in next year's budget, the U.S. government is watching intently.

The Federal Transit Administration, which invested more than $30 million in the 2006 startup of the Lebanon-to-Nashville commuter line, would demand its money back from the Regional Transportation Authority and the return of all assets if the Music City Star were to stop running, it wrote in a letter to local authorities this week.

What the federal government gives, it can also take away so very easily, leaving the tax payers on the hook for a good dream, but a fiscally impractical approach.

Take a moment next time the areas future is discussed and remember Lebanon. The light rail of Lebanon does make it seem cheaper to travel on it then by car, because your expenses are paid for by our tax money through a myriad number of agencies.