Vermonter
| Amtrak's Vermonter | |
|---|---|
| |
| Numbers | 54 to 57 |
| Route | St. Albans, VT New Haven, CT New York, NY Trenton, NJ Philadelphia, PA Baltimore, MD Washington D.C. |
| Distance | 606 mi (975 km) |
| Dates of operation | ? – present |
| Track owners (non-Amtrak) |
New England Central (NECR), CSX and Metro-North (MNCR) |
Amtrak's Vermonter is a 606-mile (975 km) passenger train service between St. Albans, Vermont and Washington, D.C. One round trip runs per day. The train was originally called the Montrealer and terminated in Montreal. When the Montrealer route was threatened with cancellation due to declining ridership, the State of Vermont stepped in to subsidize service as far north as St. Albans.
The tracks used were originally part of the Canadian National Railway, Central Vermont Railway, Boston and Maine Railroad, New Haven Railroad, New York Central Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad systems. The following lines are now used:
New England Central Railroad (St. Albans, Vt. - Palmer, MA); CSX (Palmer, MA - Springfield, MA); Amtrak (Springfield, MA - New Haven, CT and New Rochelle, NY - Washington, DC); Metro-North Commuter Railroad (New Haven, CT - New Rochelle, NY).
Contents
History
The Montrealer was originally a service of the Boston and Maine Railroad, running between Montreal and Washington. The southbound line from 1972-1974 was called the Washingtonian, and the northbound was called the Montrealer. The Ambassador ran the same route but terminated in New York. Both services used the B&M's Connecticut River Railroad south of South Vernon, Vermont, rather than the current route over the New England Central Railroad (NECR).
The Montrealer was suspended from early April, 1987 to Mid-July, 1989, because of poor track maintenance after severe flooding in New Hampshire and Vermont. The train was reinstated in July 1989, this time running over Central Vermont (CV) from St. Albans - New London, CT, rather than travelling over Guilford (B&M) iron. During the suspension, Amtrak offered "Ambus" service (operated by Vermont Transit) to Springfield, Mass., where passengers would board an Amtrak train for points south to Washington.
In 1989, when the train returned to service, train service from Northampton, Mass. was discontinued (replaced by "Ambus" service via Vermont Transit) and a new stop in Amherst, Mass., was added. The crew change was shifted from Springfield to Palmer at the same time. A stop was later added at Willimantic, CT (1992; discontinued in 1995 upon inception of the Vermonter).
The Vermonter replaced the Montrealer on 1 April 1995, bringing daytime service to Vermont, wooing many customers to travel by train in Vermont. Business Class was added after the sleepers were taken out of service upon the change to the Vermonter. The train once again brought service to Vermont back to passengers from Springfield and Hartford. This train travels from Washington to Springfield on the normal route used by Amtrak trains from Washington to Springfield, but, instead of going over Guilford iron from Springfield to East Northfield, Mass., travels on CSX (former B&A line) from Springfield to Palmer, then transferring to New England Central trackage in Palmer.
Amtrak has previously offered passengers a free Thruway bus service, operated by Vermont Transit, that met the train at St. Albans, VT for connections to and from Montréal, QC. However, due to low ridership, an inconvenient layover in Montréal for the Vermont Transit crew and Amtrak schedule changes that would have required a southbound departure from Montréal before 05:00 a.m., this service was finally suspended on October 30, 2005.
Also this run featured a colorful baggage car from its inception in 1995 until August 7, 2002. The baggage cars now reside at Beech Grove, Indiana shops in storage.
On August 8, 2006, it was announced [1] that Amtrak is urging the state of Vermont to buy smaller, more efficient diesel multiple unit (DMU) trainsets for use between New Haven and St. Albans, instead of the current locomotive-pulled trainset. Instead of remaining in the same passenger coaches while the crew switched locomotives at New Haven, passengers would change to an entirely different train. Amtrak is reportedly offering $2.5 million in subsidies to Vermont to make the switch. The new cars would purportedly save $4.25 million over three years.
With the October 30, 2006 Schedule Change, Wallingford and Windsor Locks, Connecticut were added to the Vermonter's schedule. This is the first time in the 11 years of the Vermonter's existence that it stops at these stations.
Station stops
Trains 54 (weekends) and 56 (weekdays) run northbound, and trains 55 (weekdays) and 57 (weekends) run southbound. The Vermonter makes the following station stops:
- St. Albans
- Burlington-Essex Junction
- Waterbury-Stowe
- Montpelier-Barre
- Randolph
- White River Junction
- Windsor-Mt. Ascutney
Palmer-Springfield Backup Move
Due to the track setup in Palmer, MA, the Vermonter must operate with either a locomotive on both ends or a cab car on the opposite end of the locomotive. At Palmer, there is no direct connection for eastbound trains to head north, so the Vermonter pulls past the crossing of lines, then uses a connection that allows westbound trains to head north. The train is pushed between Springfield and Palmer in either direction. Southbound the train pulls onto the former Boston and Albany tracks (now CSX), the crew switches to the cab car or second engine, and it is pushed to Springfield. Here the crew pushes the train to the other side of the wye, switches cabs again, and continues south. Northbound the train heads west on the wye at Springfield, switches cabs, then pushes to Palmer. At Palmer, the train pulls past the crossing, switches cabs, and then pulls north. There is no station stop in Palmer, which is a small town. With the start of the all electric Keystone service, it is now common to see 2 P-42 engines on the Vermonter, instead of the one engine and a cab car. This has lead to many questioning rather or not the train is overpowered for it's consist.
Other meanings of 'Vermonter'
See: Vermonter in Wiktionary
- A resident of Vermont.
