VTrans announces July restart of Amtrak service

April 8, 2021 | By Lisa Scagliotti 

After more than a year since passenger rail service was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. the Vermont Agency of Transportation today announced the return of Amtrak passenger routes to the state effective July 19. 

The move will also include the restart interstate bus service that goes hand-in-hand with Amtrak service as well. 

The Waterbury train station has been quiet for the past year with Amtrak service suspended and the GMCR Café and Visitors Center closed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. File photo by Gordon Miller

Amtrak’s Vermonter line that runs between Washington, D.C., and St. Albans stops in Waterbury. 

“We are very pleased to announce the restart of these vital transportation services for Vermonters and those who wish to travel to and from Vermont by train or bus,” said Transportation Secretary Joe Flynn. 

“With the Governor’s announcement this week of the Vermont Forward Plan to reopen Vermont fully during the next few months, we now have a target date for when we will be able to safely resume Amtrak and transit services in July.” 

Amtrak service in Vermont was suspended on March 26, 2020, when a state of emergency was put into effect due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

On Tuesday this week, Gov. Phil Scott announced a phased reopening plan over the next three months that is based on the state’s projected vaccination rate. Current estimates suggest that 60%-70% of all Vermonters will be vaccinated by early June. The administration supports a full reopening by July 4 if the vaccination rate continues as expected. 

The announcement Thursday notes that Amtrak requires at least 90 days’ notice to prepare to resume passenger rail service, in part due to Amtrak personnel needing to complete route certification. 

Two Amtrak lines serve Vermont. The Vermonter originates in Washington, D.C., travels through Connecticut and Massachusetts, and has Vermont stops in Brattleboro, Bellows Falls, Windsor, White River Junction, Randolph, Montpelier, Waterbury, Essex Junction, and St. Albans. 

The Ethan Allen Express traverses a north-south corridor along western Vermont, originating in New York City and making stops in Castleton and Rutland. The state and Amtrak are working on a plan to extend that service to Burlington beginning in 2022. That would add new stops in Middlebury and Vergennes. 

The Waterbury Train Station is owned by the local nonprofit economic development organization Revitalizing Waterbury. At its annual meeting last week, officials mentioned the return of Amtrak this summer as a development to look forward to. 

Another matter of local interest is the train station’s café that sits closed since March 2020. Run by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters which evolved into Keurig Dr. Pepper between 2006 and 2020, the café and visitors center was a bustling hub in Waterbury village drawing an estimated 200,000 visitors among local residents, downtown workers, and tourists. In January, Keurig announced that it would not reopen the café and that it had laid off the half dozen employees who previously worked there. Revitalizing Waterbury staff are now seeking a new tenant to take over the space in the landmark 1875 station. 

Bus service goes hand-in-hand 

The interstate bus service that the state agency supports is provided by two bus lines. 

VT Translines conducts a route between Colchester and Albany, New York, with stops in the communities along U.S. Route 7. Its Amtrak Vermont Shires Connector runs between Manchester and Albany, serving Bennington along the way.  

Greyhound operates along the route connecting Springfield, Massachusetts, with Montreal. State officials said that as long as the Canadian border remains closed, that route’s northern termination will be in Burlington.

Although the restart for these public transportation services is still weeks away, it’s likely that various COVID-19 safety protocols will still be in place this summer. 

“Our buses are currently operating with 50% capacity limits, have barriers installed, and masks are required,” explained Agency of Transportation Public Transit Manager Ross MacDonald, commenting on public bus service in general in Vermont. 

Commuter bus lines that have continued to operate throughout the pandemic have also used strict sanitization measures along with on-board communications urging passengers to follow Centers for Disease Control guidelines such as washing hands, mask-wearing, socially distancing and not to ride if you’re feeling ill, MacDonald said. 

“We don’t see this changing anytime soon and will revisit these measures on a monthly basis,” he said. “Masks may be required well into the summer and fall, but we’ll keep an eye on the data and CDC guidance throughout.”