Overview | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Service type | Inter-city rail | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Status | discontinued | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Locale | Northeastern United States/Quebec, Canada | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
First service | 1892 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Last service | 1953 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Successor | Ethan Allen Express (partial) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former operator(s) | Rutland Railroad New York Central Railroad Boston & Maine Railroad Canadian National Railway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Route | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Termini | New York, New York Montreal, Quebec | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance travelled | 391.4 miles (629.9 km) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Service frequency | Daily | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Train number(s) | 65 (northbound), 64 (southbound) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On-board services | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Seating arrangements | coach | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Catering facilities | dining car | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Green Mountain Flyer was an international day train between Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and the Northeast United States, with sections to New York City and Boston. It was operated in cooperation between the Rutland Railroad, the Canadian National Railway and the New York Central Railroad. The train carried the number 65 running north, and number 64 running south. [1] The Mount Royal (#51 north, #52 south) was the night train counterpart to the Green Mountain Flyer. [2] [3] Following years of cutbacks, both trains were discontinued in 1953 when the Rutland Railway ended all passenger service.
The trains' route, running south, began in Canadian National Railway territory from Montreal Central Station to the Canada–United States border at Rouses Point, New York. After traversing the islands of Lake Champlain and the Colchester Causeway, the trains served Burlington, Vermont, at its Union Station. Both trains had second-sections that split at Rutland, Vermont, and continued through on Rutland Railroad trackage to Bellows Falls, Vermont, where they followed Boston & Maine Railroad trackage through Keene, New Hampshire and Fitchburg, Massachusetts to Boston, Massachusetts' North Station. [4]
The main route continued from Rutland to North Bennington, to Troy, New York; then along the New York Central Hudson Division and Electric Division into Grand Central Terminal in New York City. [5] [6]
On September 29, 1951, the Green Mountain Flyer was cut back to Burlington, leaving only the Mount Royal serving Montreal. [7] On April 27, 1952, the northbound New York section of the Green Mountain Flyer was moved four hours later. The northbound Boston section was combined with a local train north of Rutland and operated separately from the New York section. Southbound, the New York and Boston sections continued to run combined from Burlington to Rutland. [8] [9] A strike on June 26, 1953, ended all Rutland Railway passenger service, including the Green Mountain Flyer and the Mount Royal. With the discontinuation of these trains, direct train service into Burlington ended. [10] [11]
Since 1974, Montreal–New York train service has been provided by Amtrak's Adirondack, the successor to a one-time Green Mountain Flyer competitor: the Laurentian. The Adirondack takes a more westerly route between Rouses Point and Hudson that bypasses Vermont.
In 2022 the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) and Amtrak extended the Ethan Allen Express from Rutland to Burlington over the line formerly used by the Green Mountain Flyer, restoring Burlington–New York service. [12] VTrans has also proposed adding a second Burlington–New York train via North Bennington and Manchester that would more-closely match the former route of the Green Mountain Flyer. [13] : 8–10
As of 2022 [update] there remains no direct passenger rail service between Montreal and Boston.
North Bennington is an incorporated village in the town of Bennington in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,716 at the 2020 census.
The Empire Service is an Inter-city rail service operated by Amtrak within the state of New York in the United States. The brand name originated with the New York Central Railroad in 1967. Trains on the line provide frequent daily service along the 460-mile (740 km) Empire Corridor between New York City and Niagara Falls via Albany, the state capital.
The Rutland Railroad was a railroad in the northeastern United States, located primarily in the state of Vermont but extending into the state of New York at both its northernmost and southernmost ends. After its closure in 1961, parts of the railroad were taken over by the State of Vermont in early 1963 and are now operated by the Vermont Railway.
The Ethan Allen Express is a daily passenger train operated by Amtrak in the United States between New York City and Burlington, Vermont, via Albany, New York. One daily round trip is operated on a 310-mile (500 km) north–south route with a 7-hour 35 minute scheduled running time. The train is subsidized by New York and Vermont for the portion north of Albany. It is named for Vermont cofounder and American Revolutionary War hero Ethan Allen.
The Adirondack is an intercity rail passenger train operated daily, partially along the Empire Corridor, by Amtrak between New York City and Montreal. Trains take approximately 11 hours to travel the 381 miles (613 km) route through the scenic Hudson Valley and along the eastern border of the Adirondack Mountains. Operation of the Adirondack is supported by the New York State Department of Transportation and Via Rail. Service was suspended in March 2020 due to the closure of the Canada–United States border in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, resumed in spring 2023, and suspended again at the end of June 2023 because of track conditions in Canada.
The Central Vermont Railway was a railroad that operated in the U.S. states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, as well as the Canadian province of Quebec.
The Vermonter is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between St. Albans, Vermont, and Washington, D.C., via New York City. It replaced the overnight Montrealer, which terminated in Montreal until 1995. Amtrak receives funding from the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont for Vermonter operations north of New Haven.
Springfield Union Station is a train and bus station in the Metro Center area of Springfield, Massachusetts. Constructed in 1926, Springfield Union Station is the fifth-busiest Amtrak station in the Commonwealth, and the busiest outside of Greater Boston.
Rensselaer Rail Station, signed as Albany–Rensselaer on its platforms, is a train station in Rensselaer, New York, located 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from downtown Albany across the Hudson River. Operated by the Capital District Transportation Authority, it serves as Amtrak's primary station for the Capital District. To emphasize the station's location across the river from Albany, as well as to distinguish from the Rensselaer station in Indiana, Amtrak refers to the station as "Albany–Rensselaer."
The Vermont Railway is a shortline railroad in Vermont and eastern New York, operating much of the former Rutland Railway. It is the main part of the Vermont Rail System, which also owns the Green Mountain Railroad, the Rutland's branch to Bellows Falls. The trackage is owned by the Vermont Agency of Transportation except in New York, where VTR operates a line owned by the Boston and Maine Corporation. The rail line employs about 150 people in Vermont.
Burlington Union Station is a train station and office building located in downtown Burlington, Vermont, United States. It is the northern terminal of the Amtrak Ethan Allen Express service. A single side platform on the west side of the station serves Vermont Railway excursion trains and Amtrak trains. The symmetrical Beaux Arts building, built of buff brick with limestone and granite trim, has a central pilaster over two entrances. The main building is divided for use by a variety of tenants.
The Champlain Flyer was a commuter train service in Vermont that ran from 2000 to 2003 between Burlington, South Burlington, Shelburne, and Charlotte, in the eastern Champlain Valley. The Vermont Railway operated the 13-mile (21 km) route along the former main line of the Rutland Railroad.
Bellows Falls station is an Amtrak intercity rail station located in the Bellows Falls village of Rockingham, Vermont, United States. The station is served by the single daily round trip of the Washington, D.C.–St. Albans Vermonter. It has a single side platform adjacent to the single track of the New England Central Railroad mainline.
Rouses Point station is an Amtrak intercity train station in Rouses Point, New York, served by the single daily round trip of the Adirondack. The station building is a former Delaware and Hudson Railway constructed in 1889, with a one low-level side platform on the east side of the track. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005 as Rouses Point Railroad Station.
Rutland station is a train station in Rutland, Vermont served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system. It is served by the single daily round trip of the Amtrak Ethan Allen Express. The station has a single low-level side platform, with a short high-level section for accessible level boarding.
The John W. Olver Transit Center, also called the JWO Transit Center, is an intermodal transit hub for Franklin County, Massachusetts. Located in Greenfield, it currently serves Franklin Regional Transit Authority (FRTA) local bus routes plus intercity bus service. Amtrak's Greenfield station is also located here, with one daily Vermonter round trip and two daily Valley Flyer round trips, which are extensions of Amtrak-run Hartford Line trains.
The Birmingham Special was a passenger train operated by the Southern Railway, Norfolk and Western Railway, and Pennsylvania Railroad in the southeastern United States. The train began service in 1909 and continued, with alterations, after Amtrak assumed control of most long-haul intercity passenger rail in the United States on May 1, 1971. The Birmingham Special is the namesake of the famed Glenn Miller big band tune "Chattanooga Choo Choo".
The Piedmont Limited was a named passenger train operated by the Southern Railway in the southern United States. For most of its life it was a New York—New Orleans train, operating over the same route as the more famous Crescent Limited. The Southern Railway discontinued the Piedmont Limited in 1967, though reused the name Piedmont a few years later for an Atlanta–Washington service.
The Montrealer was an overnight passenger train between Washington, D.C., United States, and Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The train was operated from 1924 to 1966, and again under Amtrak from 1972 to 1995, excepting two years in the 1980s. The train was discontinued in 1995 and replaced by the Vermonter, which provides daytime service as far north as St. Albans, Vermont. Current Amtrak service to Montreal is provided by the daytime Adirondack from New York City via Albany.
Ferrisburgh–Vergennes station is an intermodal Amtrak and bus station in Ferrisburgh, Vermont, adjacent to the city of Vergennes. The facility opened in 2007 as a free park and ride lot operated by the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans). Bus service is provided by Tri-Valley Transit and Vermont Translines. The historic station building serves passengers at the Amtrak platform located along the southwest corner of the facility. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021 as the Vergennes Station House. Rail service began on July 29, 2022, when the Ethan Allen Express was extended from Rutland to Burlington.