by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Amtrak returned to Vermont today with a splash. The literal splash was provided by ongoing rain that stopped just in time for passengers to board in Essex Junction. The festive atmosphere was a backdrop to what Amtrak officials say is the biggest ridership day in Vermont since the Vermonter (previously the Montrealer) began operating in 1995.
Over 600 passengers were scheduled to ride the rails on Monday after the pandemic shut down the service in March 2020. The Vermont service is among the last Amtrak runs in the US to restart.
The Vermonter began its southward route from St Albans. Passengers could buy a regular ticket or get a $1 ticket to go one stop. Amtrak said 59 people were disembarking in Essex Junction, which is the first stop. Passengers were required to wear masks.
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by C.B. Hall, Vermont Business Magazine Amtrak trains will begin serving Vermont again on Monday, July 19, nearly 16 months after the COVID virus led to a collapse in ridership on public transportation, with Amtrak s patronage plummeting by about 95%. The national passenger rail provider canceled scores of regularly scheduled trains, including both the Vermonter and the Ethan Allen Express, the state-supported services that ply the tracks in the Green Mountain State.
Toni Hamburg Clithero, Amtrak grants program manager at the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans), told VBM that the return of the silver, blue and red trains to the state s 11 stations will be greeted by celebrations at all of those stations - and even at the Claremont Junction, N.H., station, where the Vermonter s route hooks briefly into the Granite State.