(The following story by Nancy Remsen appeared on the Burlington Free Press website November 21, 2009.)
BURLINGTON, Vt. — Despite the economic downturn, ridership on Vermont’s passenger trains grew slightly in the 12 months ending Sept. 30 and continued the positive trend in October.
“Considering that most of the Amtrak network is flat at best, we are doing very well,” said Charlie Miller, rail planning coordinator with the Vermont Agency of Transportation.
The Ethan Allen, which runs from Rutland to New York City, showed only a minute margin of growth last year — 0.3 percent — but ridership jumped 3.3 percent in October, Miller said. Ridership on the Vermonter, which operates from St. Albans across to the eastern side of the state and south, grew 1.9 percent for the year and the same percentage last month.
The Vermont Rail Action Network, a nonprofit advocacy group, wants to help sell Vermonters on the importance of passenger and freight trains. Friday, the group kicked off a marketing campaign at Union Station in Burlington with the first in a series of benefit concerts they plan to hold at train stations across the state.
The network also plans to recruit volunteers to beautify train stations and carry timetables to public events, organize vanpools to transport college students to trains and eventually put “green cap” hosts at stations and on trains to enhance passengers’ experiences.
“Marketing works; we’ve seen it work; so we are going to contribute to it,” said Christopher Parker, the network’s executive director.
Vermont’s passenger rail has been on a roller-coaster ride in recent years. First, the Douglas administration talked of purchasing smaller, more fuel-efficient rail cars to operate on the Vermonter line. Then, the manufacturer went out of business.
Last winter, as tax revenues plummeted, state transportation officials proposed replacing passenger service between Rutland and Albany with a bus. The state subsidizes the passenger train service, and officials said bus service would be cheaper.
Opponents mobilized to save the rail service from Rutland, arguing the state needed to market the train to boost ridership. By spring, passenger service not only was saved, but state officials had negotiated with Amtrak to spend $67,000 on marketing, Miller said. Two Vermont-made Amtrak television ads were produced and ran from May to October.
Amtrak increased its funding for marketing to $100,000 for the federal fiscal year that began Oct. 1, and the Legislature added $50,000. Miller said a new marketing campaign is being planned.
Miller and Parker credit the recent television publicity with helping to maintain and grow ridership despite the tough economy.
Train advocates and state officials have even bigger dreams for the future of rail in Vermont.
The state submitted three applications seeking a total of nearly $125 million in federal economic stimulus money to upgrade track and bridges along both passenger routes so train rides would be smoother and swifter. Some of the funding would make needed improvements between Rutland and Burlington, allowing extension of passenger service to the state’s largest city.
The request also asks for money to look at rerouting the Ethan Allen south of Rutland to Bennington.
Miller said federal officials were inundated with funding requests: $54 billion in proposed projects for an $8 billion pot. Decisions aren’t expected until winter, he said.
Despite the odds, Lee Khan of Randolph, chairwoman of the Rail Network board, said, “We’re hopeful.”