Passenger rail gathers momentum

The recently expanded Ethan Allen Express passenger rail service is exceeding state officials’ expectations, while providing a boost for Addison County travelers, innkeepers, students and merchants.

2022 saw the return of passenger rail service to Addison County with the expansion of Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express train, which now moves people between New York City and Burlington each day. 

Just picked up my loving, soon to be 80-year-old mother-in-law at our Middlebury train station. COVID-19 kept her apart from my wife too long, and in the prior years we drove to Albany, N.Y. or Rutland, Vt. in whatever weather conditions.

As the Amtrak train pulled into Middlebury’s new Seymour Street station at 11:15 a.m. on Friday, July 29, those walking down the steps from the train to the platform suddenly became local celebrities walking the red carpet, with people flashing cameras in … (read more)

Greeted by a crowd of about 100 train enthusiasts, curiosity seekers, local officials and residents happy to see rail service return to Addison County for the first time since 1953 — and, yes, passengers — an Amtrak train pulled into the Ferrisburgh-Verge … (read more)

After reading your article about the new train service between Burlington and Rutland and seeing the cost, I began thinking.

Crowds cheer the arrival of passenger a train in Vergennes and Middlebury for the first time in nearly 70 years.

The passenger train, which already runs between Rutland and New York City, will extend service to Burlington and add stops in Middlebury and Vergennes.

On Saturday, May 21, first responders from across Addison County took part in classroom and in-person trainings with Amtrak engines and passenger cars in Middlebury.

We are so excited to have passenger rail service between Burlington and New York, but as Wilson Rings pointed out this week, people need to beware of the new faster trains and recognize their danger.

Vermont Transportation Agency officials are warning about people walking along the newly refurbished railroad line between Burlington and Rutland where Amtrak trains are conducting full-speed test runs.

The approximately four-year makeover of Middlebury’s twin downtown rail bridges into a 360-foot-long tunnel stayed within the forecasted $72 million construction budget, Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) officials reported last week.

The long-absent refrain of “all aboard!” is expected to ring out once again at new passenger train stations in Middlebury and Vergennes in about seven months, according to Vermont’s top rail official.

MIDDLEBURY — The chief of Vermont’s rail and aviation division said passenger train service to Burlington — with stops in Vergennes and Middlebury — is likely to commence in 2021, barring any unforeseen delays in construction of the downtown Middlebury ra … (read more)