Amtrak and the New England Central will be raising the public timetable speeds of the Vermonter between ST. Albans VT and Brattleboro VT on March 11. There is some evidence that the new speed limits are already effective, as the southbound trains regularly arrive early at White River Jct., and late northbound trains seem to make up time very easily.
Speeds north of White River Jct North Switch (Roxbury Sub MP 15.9) are restricted to 59 MPH due to lack of signals, but there are many fewer speed restrictions than there used to be. South of MP 15.9 the new CTC and former-ABS CTC to Windsor Interlocking (Roxbury Sub MP 0, Palmer Sub MP 170) merge with the Palmer Sub's upgraded ex-B&M CTC to allow a speed upgrade from 59 to 79 MPH. Total time saving is around 40 Minutes.
The time-wasting NECR/CSX detour via Palmer remains in place, so the overall schedule doesn't change much. Look for the next change in late 2013 or early 2014 depending on how much work gets done this summer on the Ex-B&M Conn River Line, which the state of MA is supposed to be buying from Pan Am Southern.
After this was posted the real date came out, which was March 18. For those of us who remember when you could just about chase the Montrealer from Claremont to White River Jct. without speeding, it makes quite a difference.
On the River line, scheduled time White River Jct. to Brattleboro now runs:
White RiverJct - Windsor 13 mi 11 min
Windsor - Bellows Falls 26 mi 25 min
Bellows Falls - Brattleboro 24 mi 32 min (includes Bellows Fall Tunnel)
On the NECR a single 30 MPH speed restriction sign at about MP 167.5 has been replaced with three hand lettered signs spaced from MP167.5 to about MP 168.3 for 50, 40 and 30.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.