‘The Amtrak is back’: Passenger trains resume service to and from Vermont
July 22, 2021 | By Lisa Scagliotti
Approximately 200 people converged on the Waterbury Train Station ahead of Amtrak’s arrival Monday morning, taking shelter in steady rain under the station’s eaves and on the spacious covered deck.
The day marked the return of passenger train service to Vermont, one of the last markets where Amtrak has resumed operations after a 16-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Amtrak’s two lines – the Ethan Allen Express and the Vermonter – both carried passengers on their routes on Monday. Some traveled from just one stop to the next, and some rode end-to-end from St. Albans to Brattleboro, for example, on the Vermonter line that stopped in Waterbury.
According to Vermont Business Magazine, an estimated 600 people were expected to hop on board on Monday, making it the biggest ridership day since 1995 when the former Montrealer started service.
In Waterbury, the crowd at the train station included 75 youngsters from the town summer recreation camp and their counselors. They were joined by many townspeople, local officials, and state lawmakers including Reps. Theresa Wood, Tom Stevens and Sen. Ann Cummings.
The weather didn’t dampen spirits as neighbors greeted each other over cider and doughnuts provided by Revitalizing Waterbury, the local economic development nonprofit that restored and now owns the historic 1875 train station.
Municipal Manager Bill Shepeluk and Revitalizing Waterbury Executive Director Karen Nevin shared brief comments of thanks to the crowd gathered and to Amtrak and state officials who worked to resume service that halted in March 2020. A portable microphone and speaker system helped carry voices over the din from road construction nearby.
Many took in the moment as yet another step toward returning normal activity to the community and to Vermont after more than a year of the pandemic.
“It’s been too quiet. Life is starting again,” Rep. Stevens told Steve Cormier from WDEV radio who was patched in live to the station’s morning call-in news show. Stevens added that part of the excitement for people taking the train was that they didn’t have to drive a car.
Shepeluk said he was thrilled at the prospect of trains stopping in town again. “We hope they get people coming here to enjoy our community,” he said. “It’s a great day.”
As head of the local organization that promotes tourism, Nevin agreed. “We continue to promote Waterbury as a destination – and love our Amtrak visitors,” she said.
Worth the wait
Townspeople young and old milled about and settled into position to keep an eye on the tracks. Eric Eley and his kids claimed a spot on the track side of the train station with a good view to the north. “Sixteen months of asking, ‘Can we go see the train today?’ and the answer today was finally...YES!” he said referring to his three kids. The 10-minute or so delay didn't bother Asher, Cora, Grayson or their dad very much.
People checked their watches and phones in anticipation of the train’s arrival. Receptions happened at all of the Amtrak stops on Monday, starting in Rutland with the Ethan Allen Express and soon afterward in St. Albans for the Vermonter where U.S. Rep. Peter Welch and Lt. Gov. Molly Gray were among the officials to address the crowd.
In her remarks before boarding the Vermonter, Gray hinted that her younger self likely shared some of the Eley children’s excitement. She recalled taking her first train trip from Washington, D.C., home to Vermont. “I was 22 and I had just started working for Congressman Peter Welch in Washington. I remember standing at Union Station and hearing the ‘all aboard’ for ‘the Vermonter,’” she told the crowd. “Although I was far away, I felt close to home knowing I could always take the train home to Vermont.”
In the works for months, the return of Amtrak’s Vermonter had one obstacle land in its path when heavy rains in southern Vermont last week washed out nearly 100 feet of railroad tracks in Dummerston.
New England Central Railroad hired crews who worked over the weekend to restore a culvert and embankments so the tracks had solid ground for both passenger and freight train traffic to resume. That came together by Sunday when the Vermonter needed to head north to be in position for Monday’s departure from St. Albans.
Squier live aboard the Vermonter
As the anticipation grew in downtown Waterbury, listeners to WDEV Radio’s morning programming got to hear a live report from the train by station owner Ken Squier who was among those riding from Essex Junction to Waterbury.
“We’re scooting down toward Waterbury – what a moment,” Squier said on the phone with morning host Lee Kittell. “Just think, the Amtrak is back … this is a pretty exciting time.”
The former NASCAR broadcaster then offered in-the-moment commentary on what was happening on the train and what he and his traveling companion, WDEV radio personality Farmer Dave, saw out their windows.
Squier touched on local rail history, noting how 19th-century Irish immigrants who worked on laying early rail lines settled in Waterbury where they built a village on Ricker Mountain at what is now Little River State Park.
He noted that his grandfather worked as the stationmaster in Waterbury and reminded listeners of the ski trains of the early 20th century that brought winter-weekend skiers to fledgling Vermont ski resorts from New York, Boston and other points south.
Given the other ceremonies of the morning, Amtrak arrived in Waterbury at 10:26 a.m., 16 minutes later than expected. Its stop was brief with about 35 passengers boarding for the trip south and about as many disembarking the six-car train.
Upon his arrival in Waterbury, Squier was greeted by Cormier on the platform where they continued the live on-air visit. As they spoke, people swarmed around the platform and some entered the train station’s Community Room which will be open twice daily now around Amtrak’s morning and evening arrival and departure times.
The station, which has sat idle since March 2020, was recently painted while it awaited the return of Amtrak trains. Noting its Italianate Victorian architecture, Nevin called it the most beautiful train station in Vermont, “not that we’re biased,” she said with a smile.
The station will remain mostly vacant despite the Amtrak activity now. Formerly home to the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Cafe and Visitors Center, the cafe’s last parent company, Keurig Dr. Pepper, in January announced it would not reopen the cafe. That leaves RW now seeking a new tenant for what was a bustling downtown hub up until last year.
Monday’s focus however was on the trains, the return of another normal part of daily life, and the opportunities trains provide travelers from Vermont and those outside the state to see Vermont and the region in a unique way.
“It’s a beautiful scenic run along the White River, crossing the Connecticut River with a view of the covered bridge in Cornish, [N.H.],” Shepeluk told WDEV when asked about riding the train. “It’s a great experience. I’d encourage anyone to get on the train and see what Central Vermont and Vermont through New England looks like.”