Ethan Allen Express

Ethan Allen Express

Rutland-bound train #291 entering Croton Harmon Station, August 12, 2008
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Status	Operating
Locale	Vermont
First service	December 1996
Current operator(s)	Amtrak
Ridership	50,717 total (2016)[1]
Route
Start	New York City
Stops	12
End	Rutland, Vermont
Distance travelled	241 miles (388 km)
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	290, 292, 296 (southbound); 291, 293, 295 (northbound)
On-board services
Class(es)	Business class and reserved coach
Seating arrangements	Airline-style coach seating
Catering facilities	On-board cafe
Baggage facilities	Carry-on only
Technical
Rolling stock	Amfleet coaches
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Operating speed	Up to 110 mph (180 km/h)
Track owner(s)	Clarendon & Pittsford Railroad Canadian Pacific Railway CSX Transportation Metro-North Railroad Amtrak
hideRoute map Legend Burlington Vergennes Middlebury proposed extension 0 mi 0 km Rutland 9 mi 14 km Castleton 14 mi 23 km Fair Haven (closed) Poultney River Vermont New York Adirondack to Montreal 44 mi 71 km Fort Edward Hudson River 63 mi 101 km Saratoga Springs Mohawk River Empire Corridor 82 mi 132 km Schenectady Hudson River 100 mi 161 km Albany–Rensselaer Lake Shore Limited to Boston South Station 128 mi 206 km Hudson 153 mi 246 km Rhinecliff–Kingston 169 mi 272 km Poughkeepsie 209 mi 336 km Croton–Harmon 227 mi 365 km Yonkers Hudson Line to Grand Central Terminal 241 mi 388 km New York City Northeast Corridor to Boston South Station show Detailed diagram showing all road crossings Burlington Vergennes Middlebury proposed extension 0 mi 0 km Rutland US 4 Business US 4 VT 4A 9 mi 14 km Castleton 14 mi 23 km Fair Haven VT 22A VT 4A US 4 Poultney River Vermont New York Adirondack to Montreal 44 mi 71 km Fort Edward Hudson River NY 32 I-87 US 9 NY 9N 63 mi 101 km Saratoga Springs NY 50 NY 67 NY 146A Mohawk River Empire Corridor 82 mi 132 km Schenectady NY 5 I-787 Hudson River 100 mi 161 km Albany–Rensselaer US 9/ US 20 Lake Shore Limited to Boston South Station New York Thruway 128 mi 206 km Hudson NY 23 NY 199 153 mi 246 km Rhinecliff–Kingston US 44/ NY 55 169 mi 272 km Poughkeepsie I-84/ NY 52 209 mi 336 km Croton–Harmon I-87 / I-287 / New York Thruway 227 mi 365 km Yonkers Hudson Line to Grand Central Terminal 241 mi 388 km New York City Northeast Corridor to Boston South Station This diagram: view talk

The Ethan Allen Express is a 241-mile (388 km) higher-speed passenger train service operated by Amtrak between New York City and Rutland, Vermont via Albany, New York. With a scheduled trip time of 5.5 hours from Penn Station to the Green Mountains, the Ethan Allen Express is popular among vacationers traveling to the ski town of Killington, Vermont. The train is named for Vermont founding figure and American Revolutionary War hero Ethan Allen.

Operations are subsidized by the states of Vermont and New York. Between Penn Station and Schenectady, the route follows the Empire Corridor: a federally-designated high-speed rail corridor.

Plans are in place to extend the Ethan Allen Express from Rutland to Burlington by spring 2022, with stops in Middlebury and Vergennes.^[2]

History[]

The Ethan Allen Express at Rutland in 2001

In April 1995, the Montrealer was shifted to daytime operation, cut back to St. Albans, and renamed as the Vermonter, providing daytime service to eastern and central Vermont for the first time since 1966.^[3] The western part of the state then advocated for rail service to Rutland as well. $4.7 million in federal funds was secured to upgrade the former Delaware and Hudson Railway Whitehall Branch between Whitehall and Rutland for passenger speeds.^[4] Service was initiated on December 2, 1996.^[5] This was the first passenger service to Rutland since the Rutland Railroad ended its Burlington–New York City service in 1953, and the first passenger service on the Whitehall Branch since 1936.^[4]

The Ethan Allen Express began with stops in Rutland, Fort Edward, Saratoga Springs, Schenectady, Albany–Rensselaer, Hudson, Rhinecliff, Poughkeepsie, Croton, Yonkers and New York City.^[6] A stop at Fair Haven was added in November 1997.^[7]

Until May 2002, the train included a baggage car for skis and unboxed bicycles as well as checked baggage.^{[citation needed]}

In October 2008, the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) proposed eliminating the Ethan Allen Express and replacing it with a bus citing budgetary restrictions. The proposal was rejected by a legislative committee.^[8] VTrans again proposed ending service in January 2009; two hundred people rallied at Rutland station against the proposed cut.^[9] Rail advocates, led by the Vermont Rail Action Network^[10] and local political leaders^[11] organized to fight the cut and plans to drop the service were abandoned.^[12]

On January 2, 2010, the Ethan Allen Express began stopping at Castleton. Service to Fair Haven ended on January 9.^[13]

On February 23, 2011, VTrans began an investigation into the Vermont Rail System's (VRS) handling of the Ethan Allen Express between Whitehall, New York and Rutland after Amtrak notified the state that track conditions meant the train was frequently delayed. Amtrak evaluated the line as the worst in the nation.^[14] During the summer of 2011, VRS conducted work to improve the track in question, planned to result in an eighteen-minute reduction in travel time by the end of the year, with additional work planned for the summer of 2012.^[15] The project was funded by both the railroad and the state of New York at a cost of $3.25 million, and involved rebuilding about 8 miles (13 km) of track and eight grade crossings.^[15] By February 2012, the trackwork had resulted in a 15-minute southbound and 25-minute northbound reduction in travel time between Rutland and Whitehall, while the total time the Ethan Allen Express operated behind schedule fell to 135 minutes in December 2011, from 11,068 minutes a year earlier.^[16]

All trains using the Empire Connection, excluding the Lake Shore Limited operated into Grand Central Terminal from May 26, to September 4, 2018 to allow work on the Empire Tunnel, the Spuyten Duyvil movable bridge, and Track 19 in New York's Penn Station.^[17]

In April 2020, the Ethan Allen Express was truncated to Albany–Rensselaer as part of a round of service reduction in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[18] The move was forced after the pandemic prompted Vermont Governor Phil Scott to declare a state of emergency. On April 8, 2021, Amtrak and VTrans announced that the Ethan Allen Express would resume its full schedule in mid-July.^[19][20] Service to Rutland resumed on July 19, 2021, with $1 promotional fares on that date for travel within Vermont.^[21][22]

Extension to Burlington[]

Union Station in Burlington, Vermont will be the northern terminus of the Ethan Allen Express beginning around 2021-22

There have been plans to extend the Ethan Allen from Rutland to Burlington since at least 2000.^[23] The last passenger service between the cities was in 1953 on the Rutland Railroad's Green Mountain Flyer and Mount Royal.^[3]

In 2005, a $30 million earmark was obtained by Senator Jim Jeffords to, in part, fund the extension. Of this, $19 million remained by 2011, the balance having been used for other projects such as a new spur for freight traffic.^[23][24]

Advocates, led by chambers of commerce and the Vermont Rail Action Network, renewed the push for an extension to Burlington.^[25] They believed that service to Burlington would secure the long-term sustainability of the service by generating much more ridership than Rutland is capable of.^[26]

The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) applied for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds to rebuild the tracks between Rutland and Burlington to passenger standards (59 mph (95 km/h)).^[27] While the initial application was not approved, the state subsequently entered a second US$70 million application for similar grants,^[28] and later a third, all of which were rejected.^[24]

In 2013, the extension received additional funding via a $9 million grant from the fifth round of the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER V) program to pay for the replacement of jointed rail with continuously welded rail.^[29] In October 2015, the Vermont Agency of Transportation was awarded a $10 million TIGER 2015 grant to rehabilitate 11 miles of track, add a wye in Rutland, add crossovers and passing sidings, and install passenger platforms in Middlebury, Vergennes, and Burlington. These improvements will result in increased speeds of up to 40 mph (64 km/h) for freight and 60 mph (97 km/h) for passenger trains between Rutland and Burlington.^[30]

In October 2015, VTrans said that service to Burlington would begin in three to four years.^[31] Service was expected to start in 2020 or early 2021, but was further delayed to spring 2022.^[2] When it starts, it is anticipated that the train will arrive in Burlington in the evening and depart in the morning. Middlebury has hired a consultant to study locations for its station, while Burlington hired a consultant to study where the train should be parked overnight.^[32][33] The train storage issue has been resolved with the decision to store trains overnight to the south of the station. The trains will be stored in the Vermont Rail System yard.^[34]

VTrans is considering the possibility of adding infill whistle stops in Brandon and Shelburne following the train's extension to Burlington, noting the tradeoff between access and travel time.^[35]

VTrans is also looking into positive train control and related infrastructure upgrades that would allow the Ethan Allen Express to reach speeds of 79 mph (127 km/h), up from 59 mph (95 km/h), on sections between Whitehall and Burlington. This would save about 15 minutes per trip—barring any gains in operational efficiency—and in turn incentivize an additional 1,400 to 2,600 estimated riders per year by 2040.^[36]

Burlington to Essex Junction[]

The 2021 Vermont Rail Plan lists a number of "potential initiatives" for increasing rail ridership in the state. Among these is the option to connect the Ethan Allen Express with the Vermonter by extending it from Burlington to Essex Junction via the New England Central Railroad's 7.8-mile Winooski Branch. Upgrading the branch for higher speeds would be a prerequisite for the service, since its passenger train rating is just 15 mph (24 km/h) at present.^[2] VTrans forecasts that the project would attract between 4,900 and 7,800 additional riders per year by 2040, assuming the Vermonter is extended to Montreal.^[37]

Route details[]

The Ethan Allen Express operates over trackage owned by the following railroads:

• Clarendon & Pittsford Railroad: Rutland, Vermont–Whitehall, New York
• Canadian Pacific Railway (Canadian Subdivision): Whitehall–Schenectady, New York
• CSX Transportation (Hudson Subdivision): Schenectady–Poughkeepsie, New York
• Metro-North Railroad (Hudson Line): Poughkeepsie–Spuyten Duyvil, Bronx, New York City
• Amtrak (Empire Connection): Spuyten Duyvil–New York Penn Station

The Ethan Allen Express operates as higher-speed rail – up to 110 mph (180 km/h) – on the Hudson Subdivision, and up to 80 mph (130 km/h) on the Hudson Line.

Equipment[]

In the 2010s a typical Ethan Allen Express had three-four Amfleet passenger cars, an Amfleet business class car, and an Amfleet cafe car, with the train being pulled by a GE P32AC-DM dual-mode locomotive.^[38]

Station stops[]

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ethan Allen Express.

• Ethan Allen Express – Amtrak
• Vermont Rail Action Network