New Passenger Rail Line Will Be Completed By 2017

The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) recently unveiled plans to restore the passenger rail line along the state’s western corridor. This new rail system will run from Bennington to Burlington via Middlebury and Rutland, giving residents of Middlebury direct rail access to both Rutland and Burlington.
Currently, the railroad that bisects the town of Middlebury only transports freight.

In the past, however, the railway that runs through downtown Middlebury also provided passenger service. A plan introduced at a Vermont Rail Action Network (VRAN) meeting held in the Kirk Alumni Center on Tuesday, Oct. 23, however, outlined comprehensive plans to revive the defunct passenger railway that once ran through Middlebury.
Chris Cole, the policy, planning and intermodal development director at VRAN, announced plans to renovate the long defunct western corridor passenger line and partner to restore decaying railroad overpasses in downtown Middlebury.

The project is estimated to cost between $35 million and $45 million dollars, and initial projections put the completion date at some point in 2017.

Although the project is a costly one, both Cole and Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin indicated that plans to upgrade Vermont railways will continue with or without federal funding. Shumlin feels that investment in Vermont’s railways should be a policy focus for the state of Vermont in the future. Cole expects that the state will be able to use federal highway funding, though it is not yet clear if that will be available.

Renovation of the state’s rail network is priority for the Shumlin administration.The renovation of the western corridor rail line is only a small component of Shumlin’s broader plan to quadruple passenger railroad usage and double the amount of freight transported along Vermont railways by 2030.

Work on the railways is expected to begin soon — at least 12 separate construction zones have been identified for renovation within the next year. It is thought that roughly 70 miles of railway will need to be renovated in the next few years to realize the goal of a comprehensive railway from Bennington to Burlington by 2017. In the long-term, the project is also focused on extending the national Amtrak network into Burlington.

Many critics of the public transportation system in America are worried that existing automobile and airplane networks will not be able to accommodate increasing numbers of commuters. According to Shumlin, rapid population increases in Vermont and across the United States necessitate transportation alternatives. Shumlin and other state policymakers see an improved rail network as an affordable alternative to automobile and airplane use.

Shumlin and Cole predict that an expanded rail system in Vermont will benefit the state of Vermont in a handful of ways; chiefly, expanded railways will give the state economy a significant boost.

The Amtrak line and the extended intra-state railway coverage will provide tourists with more comprehensive access to the state of Vermont, which will generate significant revenue. Improved accessibility will benefit businesses by expanding the sphere of Vermont tourism. The new railway system will give tourists without cars unprecedented access to Vermont towns and cities.

Furthermore, the expanded railway line will streamline transportation to and from Chittenden County — the state’s largest commercial cente’— thereby making statewide commercial freight transportation vastly more efficient. An improved public transportation system will give workers across the state inexpensive and direct commuting options.

The benefits of the expanded railway system are far from being strictly economic in nature. The proposed expansion would also benefit the state environmentally.

The expansion of the public transportation system will give the many people living in Chittenden County — Vermont’s most densely populated area — accessible and inexpensive public transportation options that make it possible to limit their personal fuel consumption.

Jack Byrne, director of the sustainability and integration office at the College, sees the railway expansion as a step in the right direction. He explained that increased railway use by students and faculty would cut down on high-emission automobile and airplane trips. If all goes according to plan, students and faculty will have convenient access to Burlington, Rutland and beyond in only a few short years.