[B]URLINGTON — Railroad officials and advocates on Wednesday praised state lawmakers’ efforts to expand passenger service in Vermont.
Northern Vermont is on the cusp of implementing two significant rail expansions: restoring passenger service to downtown Burlington, and extending Amtrak’s Vermonter line to Montreal.
At a news conference at Union Station, Brad Worthen, vice chair of the Vermont Rail Action Network, said support for rail has increased substantially over the past decade. He said the U.S. falls behind other developed nations around the world when it comes to rail.
“The younger generation today realizes that we need to have transportation infrastructure of all varieties,” Worthen said.
The event also served as a sendoff for Victoria Principato and Caitlyn Boyle, two summer interns for the National Association of Railroad Passengers, who are embarking on a 10,000-mile trip by rail. Burlington was the first stop for the two college students, who will visit 22 cities in 10 states and document their journey to promote rail ridership.
Chris Saunders, a representative for U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said the senator has been a longtime advocate of rail.
“We want to make a strong commitment to keep rail service here,” Saunders said. “Sen. Leahy has taken that message and run with it.”
Leahy was instrumental in passing legislation that will allow U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers to work at the train station in Montreal. This would speed up travel for passengers and allow for nonstop travel once boarding the train. Since the train will have only one Canadian stop, travelers would be cleared by U.S. agents after arriving in Montreal, or prior to departing for Vermont.
Travelers on the Adirondack line, which runs on the New York side of Lake Champlain, currently have to stop for over an hour for clearance at the border, according to rail officials.
Erica Campbell, a representative for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said Vermont’s congressional delegation has always been supportive of rail, despite past difficulties in securing funding.
“We’re very hopeful at this point that we will start to see more momentum coming from Washington in support of rail,” she said.
Campbell said she did a trip similar to the interns’ “Summer by Rail” in 1995, and called it “one of the most fabulous travel experiences” of her life.
Megan Sullivan spoke on behalf of U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt.
“It’s important to note that it’s more than just fun,” Sullivan said of the interns’ journey. “In America we think of a summer trip as being a road trip. With the dire consequences we’re facing with the environment right now and recent moves to back out of the Paris climate agreement, there’s a real impact from those road trips.”
She said the trip has the potential to show Americans how rail travel can be a convenient and environmentally friendly way to travel.
Vermont’s congressional delegation has played a large role. Leahy, Sanders and Welch helped secure a $10 million federal grant from the Department of Transportation in 2016, which will finance the extension of the Ethan Allen Express line from Rutland to Burlington. The route travels to New York City via Albany, New York.
Dan Delabruere, rail program director for the Vermont Agency of Transportation, said the interns’ trip highlights the type of transportation Americans increasingly seek.
“We want intermodal connections. We want to be able to take a train somewhere and get off and grab our bike, or catch a bus,” Delabruere said.
The connection to Burlington is on progress to be completed by the end of 2020 or spring of 2021, according to Delabruere. Nearly all rail replacement is complete, but work remains on bridges, crossing safety and Americans With Disabilities Act compliance for the Union Station platform.
The extension of the Vermonter line, which currently travels between Washington, D.C., and St. Albans, is the route slated to extend to Montreal. Delabruere said the only remaining barrier to completion is “politics.” The Canadian government needs to enact customs legislation similar to the bill Leahy backed. Infrastructure on the U.S. side of the border is complete, although improvements are necessary in Canada.
Delabruere said he couldn’t provide a timeline for completion. Worthen, of the Rail Action Network, estimated the line would be running within a few years.
The “Summer By Rail” interns will document their travels on their blog and social media accounts. The pair will be on their journey for the next month.
