The Vermont Rail Action Network supports investment in rail infrastructure to improve both freight and passenger service.
We are gratified by the hard work and effectiveness of Vermont’s political leaders and Agency of Transportation to improve rail. In 2011 we saw major track investments in the route of the Vermonter, which was a testimony to a successful application prepared by AOT and the railroad and supported by elected officials from our communities to Congress We also saw a speedy, effective response to Irene by AOT, the railroads and their contractors. We are thankful to all whose involvement and investment in rail has helped our state!
More than half the Vermont rail network is owned by the state of Vermont. As landlord, the state is responsible for major upgrades – bridges, rail and roadbed. Day to day maintenance of the line is done by the railroad. Over the last 50 years, the state has not kept up with needed upgrades resulting in a decline in the condition of the rail network as aging components remain band-aided in place.
In the United States all forms of transportation are government subsidized and we continue to seek public support for rail upgrades that will have public benefit.
The medium term priorities for the Vermont Rail Action Network are extending passenger trains up the length of the Western Corridor from New York City, to Bennington, Rutland and Burlington; Raising freight weight limits to the national standard of 286,000 lbs,; Returning passenger train service from Vermont to Montreal.
The Governor’s proposed 2013 Budget
The Governor’s proposed 2013 budget includes several very important investments in the rail network which include bride, track and crossing upgrades, requests for additional federal funding, continued support of Vermont’s two Amtrak trains and funding for sidings. One third of the budget is for upgrades to the Western Corridor. We support these priority projects.
More than half of this proposed investment is federal dollars, including the “Jeffords Earmark” from some years back and stimulus funds for the New England Central Railroad. It will be necessary in the future for the state to increase its contribution.
A great many state owned rail bridges are in poor shape. Bridge 219 in Proctor (Florence) is particularly important because it currently represents a slow order that would delay future Western Corridor passenger trains. Its replacement will allow raising the weight limit (to the national standard of 286,000 lbs) as far as Florence from Rutland and the connection with the Canadian Pacific Railroad. Right now Vermont shippers are forced to load cars 11% short of a load, which is a competitive disadvantage.
We are pleased to see the state finally spend the “Jeffords Earmark” that has been sitting unused for so long.
The state is already committed to the last upgrades to the Vermonter route (primarily extending signals north of White River Junction). Paid by federal and railroad funds, the money passes through the sVermont Agency of Transportation and must appear in the budget.
Vermont subsidizes operation of Vermont’s two Amtrak trains, which bring out of state tourists and students and allow people to work or retire in Vermont and remain connected to clients and family in the Northeast. Tax revenues generated by visitors arriving on the Ethan Allen exceed its cost to the state and the same is probably true for the Vermonter.
The “track 3” study is preparing the way to initiate passenger train service to North Bennington and Manchester, continuing to Rutland. We support this and are closely engaged in order to make sure it is a success.
The “Three-Way Partnership” fund for sidings allows shippers, desiring a siding, to put up one third of the cost and receive matching funds from the state and federal government to complete the financing for the siding. By easing the initial capital burden, the fund has proven instrumental in developing new rail business and thus keeping trucks off the roads. Having a fully funded program allows for quick action when potential business develops (vs. the time and red tape involved if projects could be funded only after the business was found, project proposed, next budget cycle waited for, etc. – enough to send the business off to the truckers).
The state purchased the tracks between Newport and White River Junction almost a decade ago and began rehabilitating them back to a reasonable (25mph) freight standard, however the effort was stopped several years ago. The Vermont Rail System has grown freight rail traffic through the Northeast Kingdom tremendously, but the tracks remain a deteriorated to an inefficient 10 mph. The tie replacement program included in the budget is urgent. A recent inspection trip found ties (which normally have a 20-40 year life) from as far back as 1940.
The “Western Corridor”
Amtrak’s Ethan Allen runs from New York City to Rutland . . . but stops an hour and forty minutes shy of the state’s largest city. Amtrak says extending the train to Burlington would grow ridership by 50% and reduce the state’s need to provide subsidy, making the long term future of the train more sustainable. Not surprising when you realize Chittenden County is ten times the size of Rutland; the additional revenue should be more than the small expense of an hour and forty minutes of running time.
Alas, the condition of the tracks between Rutland and Burlington would permit only 30 mph operation for much of the route. Not fast enough to be competitive. This year’s budget includes money for necessary bridge and crossing work, 17 miles of new welded rail would be needed. The cost for work north of Rutland could be between $25 and $70 million (we’ll know more after Amtrak’s track geometry car surveys the route in May). The state will need to be investing its own resources into this project. (Compare this to the proposed $220 million cost of the 2 mile circ highway).
The western side of the state represents our population and tourist centers of the state and deserve rail service. It’s also home of the largest rail shippers in the state, making improving these tracks (particularly raising the weight limit to 286,000lbs.) a freight priority as well.
We believe we should start passenger train service to Burlington as soon as possible. It may be that upgrades to the line have to be done over a period of years. We think starting the train and improving it over time will generate momentum and will make it easier to get the work done.
We support passenger service up the entire western side of the state, including Bennington, Rutland, Burlington.
Passenger Trains Between Vermont and Montreal
Amtrak’s Vermonter now runs from Saint Albans to New York and Washington DC via White River Junction and Hartford. Montreal is tantalizingly close.
Vermonters would love train service to Montreal. And in fact there are 5 million Quebecers who represent the nearest major source of tourists to Northern Vermont.
Just as shopping malls put anchor stores at both ends, running the train to Montreal would double the train’s efficiency. Instead of starting empty and gradually loading passengers until arriving full in New York City, the train could start out full from Montreal and passengers leaving along the route would be replaced with boarding passengers. For just a small extension we get major destinations in two directions instead of one. It’s like doubling service without having to pay for it!
So far, the biggest issue has been clearing security. Vermont is unwilling to have passengers get off the train with their luggage for an undetermined number of hour(s) at the border. The state is working on the idea of a pre-clearance facility in Montreal Central Station and has included design money for that facility in the 2013 budget request. Work remains to nail down procedures and agreements, but much has happened.
When the Vermonter replaced the overnight Montrealer in 1995, the cost to operate between Montreal and Saint Albans was as much as the cost between Saint Albans and Washington DC. This was because the union required four crews. The Vermont Rail Action Network supports our hard working train-crews but recognizes (as do the unions, we think) that this is not acceptable or possible today.
North of Saint Albans the track is deteriorated. The cost to rehabilitate this short section to the border is less than $11 million.
Safety, Trespassing and Farm Crossings
People should never trespass on tracks and bridges, nor should they go around crossing gates and past lights into the path of trains – but they do. Stronger legal penalties are in order, as is better public education. Because we value people, we value safety.
Farm crossings have existed since the railroads were built. We believe farm crossings should stay farm crossings; property owners must not use farm crossings for other purposes unless they negotiate a separate private crossing agreement and assume all liability. Crossings are always a point of conflict and therefore a safety compromise and more should be established only when really necessary.
Infrastructure
