Vermont Rail Action Network

[Update: the historic excursion train is sold out but you can come to the celebration at the Waterbury Station]

Governor Shumlin will be among the dignitaries in attendance for Vermont’s celebration of National Train Day, May 12th, 2012, at the historic train station in downtown Waterbury.

The event kicks off at Essex Junction where passengers will board historic passenger cars provided by the Vermont Rail System and pulled by locomotives from the New England Central Railroad.  

The train will arrive in Waterbury at approximately 10:35 AM for the celebration.

In addition, Brattleboro will host it's own National Train Day event for the third year running from 11:30 - 12:30pm.

“We think Waterbury is an excellent choice for this year’s National Train Day event,” said Transportation Secretary, Brian Searles. “The town is an important crossroads and commercial center, a gateway to many of our resort destinations, and a community that has shown a real sense of pride in their connection with the rail network.”

On arrival in Waterbury,  passengers will disembark to meet the Governor, Vermont Rail System staff, Amtrak officials, members of the Vermont Legislature, Village of Waterbury officials, and VTrans Rail staff.  There will be brief remarks by several speakers; a slide show of the repairs to our Vermont railroads, post Irene; and railroad exhibits to view at the Waterbury Station.  There will also be time to explore downtown Waterbury before the train heads north again at 1:00PM.

Limited seating is available to the general public. Reservations are required. All riders must be prepared to show identification to gain access to the train. For reservations, please contact Bob Atchinson at 802-828-5993 or email Robert.Atchinson@state.vt.us. For more information, please visit www.nationaltrainday.com.

[Photos: Kevin Burkholder]

Governor Peter Shumlin and Vermont’s Congressional Delegation today announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved over $11 million under the Public Assistance program related to the extensive work done on Bridge 501 along the Vermont Railway line in White River Junction following Tropical Storm Irene.

The total estimated cost for the project currently stands at $14.8 million.

The severely damaged rail bridge was in imminent danger of collapse and would have effectively dammed the White River and caused severe flooding in nearby towns. 

VTrans worked to stabilize, reopen and ultimately restore the important transportation link in record time.

“Once again, Vermonters got the job done in record time to get this bridge re-opened,” Gov. Shumlin said. “Thanks to the hard work of Sens. Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders, and Rep. Peter Welch, this federal assistance will go a long way toward covering the cost of that work.”

In a joint statement, Leahy, Sanders and Welch said: “Restoring this vital rail link was one of our state’s highest priorities. It was also one of the costliest. Federal reimbursement for our recovery from Irene was such a high priority for us in Congress because our small state needs a strong federal partner to build back from such widespread destruction. We are gratified that our work enabled the State of Vermont to move quickly and confidently in rebuilding Bridge 501, and in record time. We commend Governor Shumlin and all who helped get the job done.”

The New England Central Railroad has finished three quarters of the Vermonter route upgrade, part of the ARRA stimulus fund.

All 18 trainloads of rail has been laid while ties, surfacing and bridge work will continue south of White River Junction this spring and summer to instal 50,000 ties, redo 25 switches and strengthen and speed up 15 bridges.

At certain times the work will cause delay's to Amtrak's Vermonter by up to 30 minutes.  This is because after new ties and ballast have been installed, the track must settle a bit and slow orders are imposed until it does.

When finished the project will result in a schedule within Vermont that is 27 minutes faster.  Massachusetts and Connecticut have their own projects (Massachusetts will be done in 2013, Connecticut in 2016) that will bring futher speed improvements en-route to New York.

The project has received a "no findings" status from the federal audit, which is good.

The goal is to finish work by September 12th, after which the track geometry car will visit and measure and certify to work, with speeds raised by the fall time change.

The project is on track to be the first "high-speed" stimulus fund project completed.

Amtrak's Vermonter was 100% on time in March of 2012!!  Given murphy's law, that's pretty amazing!  The Ethan Allen did well too, at 85.5% on-time.  Averaged together, Amtrak trains in Vermont were 92.7% on-time.  The 12 month average for the Vermonter is 95.6%, which is pretty darn good.

This is big.  Worth a celebration!  (Worth a ride!)

The Burlington Free Press' Nancy Remson reports that Vermont Rail System has "moved from poorest-performing Amtrak host in the country to a top performer in just 12 months."

The improvement follows $750,000 of track work the railroad did this summer using it's own funds.

The number of delay minutes for Ethan Allen dropped from 11,068 for December 2010 to 135 for December 2011, according to the Free Press, despite a shortening of the schedule by 15 minutes.

"That improvement represents a 99 percent reduction in delays along the route," Joe McHugh, Amtrak's vice president for government affairs and corporation communications, wrote to the Vermont Agency of Transportation.

Ridership on the Ethan Allen is up noticibly, about ten percent over last year.  When the Vermonter timekeeping improved several years ago, the same thing happened: ridership grew and hasn't stopped since.

"VRS did an exceptional job executing the plan in a timely manner and addressing nearly all the slow orders along the route," Amtrak's McHugh wrote. "Only the devastating effects of Hurricane Irene slowed their progress, and even that set the plan back by just one month."

"The VRS team are deserving of praise and credit for their response and hard work," McHugh said.

"I don't want anything to jeopardize our New York-to-Burlington train," Senate Transportation Committee Chair Dick Mazza told the Free Press. "I'm very happy they got together and resolved their issues."

At the legislative Commission on International Trade & State Sovereignty in Montpelier, Chris Cole from the Agency of Transportation, outlined the state's ongoing work to restore passenger train service from Vermont to Montreal.

Four issues need to be resolved:

1. Pre-Clerance proceedures

2. Funding & Building the pre-clerance facility in Montreal

3. Resolving Operating Agreements

4. Upgrading the tracks.