(The following story by Matt Sutkoski appeared on the Burlington Free Press website on August 3, 2010.)
BURLINGTON, Vt. — Amtrak ridership in Vermont is growing at a pace that outstrips the national average, according to newly released figures, with the Vermonter route through northern and eastern Vermont seeing particularly large gains.
The number of people boarding the Vermonter in June was 25,866, up 29 percent over June 2009, said Cliff Cole, an Amtrak spokesman.
Overall, Amtrak’s nationwide ridership increased 7.2 percent over last year, Cole said.
Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express, which operates between Rutland and New York City, saw a June to June ridership increase of 10.5 percent, Cole said.
Several factors might have contributed to the increasing popularity of Amtrak, especially in Vermont. Cole said people remain fed up with relatively high gas prices, and some travelers are turned off by security and other hassles at airports, he said. The average price for a gallon of regular-grade gas Monday in Vermont was $2.72. A year ago the average was $2.55.
Vermont Agency of Transportation Rail Director Joe Flynn also credited railroad companies for maintaining and improving tracks, which contributes to high Amtrak on-time rates.
This year the Vermonter line won a $52.7 million federal grant for rail improvements. The segment that runs from St. Albans to Massachusetts, through Essex Junction and White River Junction, would be improved so trains could travel up to 79 mph in some sections, shaving as much as 30 minutes from the trip.
When the grant was announced in January, officials said the improvements could be complete within two years. The line continues to New York City and Washington, D.C.
Combined with another $110 million in work that will be done along the Vermonter line in central Massachusetts and Connecticut, 80 minutes will be sliced from the total trip time. That could cut a trip from Essex Junction to New York to a little more than 8 hours, down from 9 hours and 40 minutes. The reduction puts the train closer to the drive-time, which is about six hours, depending on traffic.
Vermont did not win the money for a proposal to bring passenger rail service back to Burlington for the first time since 1953. The denied proposal for a $71.5 million grant was for a service that would have had stops in Middlebury and Rutland along a track currently used for freight.
New England Central Railroad operates the tracks on which the Vermonter runs. The Clarendon and Pittsford Railroad operates Ethan Allen Express tracks, Flynn said.
Charles Hunter, New England Central’s director of state relations, said his company has had an ongoing program to improve its tracks by installing thousands of new ties and shoring up the track bases. New England Central has carefully calibrated its dispatching system to ensure there are no conflicts between Amtrak and freight trains, Hunter said.
It is hard to glean which customers are responsible for most of the Vermonter’s increased popularity, Flynn said. Part of it is likely a special $12 deal that allows Vermont residents to take the Vermonter to any destination in the state.
Cole said skiers are an important segment of the Vermonter and Ethan Allen ridership.
The trend toward increased ridership is good for Vermont because the more people ride Amtrak, the less taxpayers will need to subsidize it, Flynn said. Also, increased Amtrak ridership from New York or Washington to Vermont could be a sign of increased tourism in the Green Mountain State, he said.