rcdrye Vermont is committed (for whatever reason) to restoring service to Montreal,
Vermont is committed (for whatever reason) to restoring service to Montreal,
Perhaps Democrats with clout are partial to Franklin County, which since 1928 only Stevenson, McGovern, Carter and Mondale have managed to lose.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_County,_Vermont
Extending the Ethan Allen is the other plan - both are in motion.
The former Rutland between Rutland and Burlington has been almost completely relaid with 115 lb. welded rail (same size used on the Vermonter route) and is in much better shape than it ever was. A small but bitter dispute about rebuilding the cut through Middlebury and the bridges that cross it seems like the major block at this point, other than figuring out how to deal with the see-saw required at Rutland, and how to divide payment with New York.
I understand anyway the plan is to extend the Ethan Allen to Burlington.
MidlandMikeIf the train terminated in Burlington, you could walk to the adjacent ferry terminal and cross Lake Champlain to Port Kent, NY, which is a stop on the Adiriondack to Montreal.
Vermont is committed (for whatever reason) to restoring service to Montreal, with the hope of establishing connecting service (at Massachusett's expense) to Boston at Springfield MA.
The Burlington-Port Kent ferry run is in some danger if current trends continue, despite being Lake Champlain Transportation's "franchise run". Traffic is way off over the last couple of years. The other LCT routes seem to be holding their own.
Total additional mileage of track not currently used by Amtrak that's part of the proposed service extension is 25.4, of which about 10 are in Canada.
We may have to wait a long time for the pre clearance bill to pass in Canada. The bill actually expands US agents to include arrest powers. Canadians are upset on sovientry issues. This would be a change from present Canadian airport pre clearance. Evidently US put those items in the agreement with Canada.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/pre-clearance-border-canada-us-1.3976123
Deggesty MidlandMike If the train terminated in Burlington, you could walk to the adjacent ferry terminal and cross Lake Champlain to Port Kent, NY, which is a stop on the Adiriondack to Montreal. The best thing about terminating in St. Albans is the engine terminal. Does the ferry run year-round?
If the train terminated in Burlington, you could walk to the adjacent ferry terminal and cross Lake Champlain to Port Kent, NY, which is a stop on the Adiriondack to Montreal. The best thing about terminating in St. Albans is the engine terminal.
Does the ferry run year-round?
June 15 Sept 24:
http://ferries.com/vt-ny-ferry-routes/burlington-vt-port-kent-ny/
MidlandMike If the train terminated in Burlington, you could walk to the adjacent ferry terminal and cross Lake Champlain to Port Kent, NY, which is a stop on the Adiriondack to Montreal. The best thing about terminating in St. Albans is the engine terminal.
Johnny
Good points made in the previous two posts. Instead of terminating in St. Albans, fix up the NEC tracks from Essex Jct. to Burlington and terminate there. Then the Ethan Allen doesn't need to be extended on the Vermont Rlwy. and the end point of the Vermonter would be a larger city than St. Albans. The fix from Essex Jct. to Burlington would be cheaper than a trestle fix. And, you still have your train to Montreal with the Adirondack.
Why run another longer slower train to Montreal. The historic route to Montreal goes through the Champlain Valley. If Amtrak wants to improve access to Montreal speed up the border crossings and work on Adirondack route.
Wisconsin is a fairly small state with a small budget I would think if it could pay money to get railroad bridges and rail lines upgraded, some of these NE states like Vermont can chip in some money. Why does it always have to be the Federal Taxpayer?
Both trestles are in better shape than when the Montrealer ran, being now rated for 286,000 lb. cars. The speed limit for the trestles and swing bridges hasn't changed since the 1940s. The main non-funding obstacle to service restoration (which will be daytime, not overnight) is the preclearance area at Montreal's Central Station, which is also needed by the Adirondack. The entire stretch from St. Albans to Cantic QC where the Adirondack's route is joined is about 25 miles long.
I love the Montrealer train, My family rode it. Amtrak needs to bring back Amtrak 60 &61. They need to back Sleeping car service to Montreal.
Although I think this guy should be arrested for stupidity pacing a train while driving, it does show that there won't be any Amtrak "Montrealer" service to Montreal for some time. Not until that trestle, and possibly one other, is either upgraded or replaced.
Timing the Amfleet car past a bent on the trestle it looks like pretty close to the MAS of 10 MPH for the trestle (the Richelieu River trestle/swing bridge on the other side of the Canadian border used to have - and may still have - an MAS of 5 MPH) . The run wasn't intended as a speed test, but for close inspection of the track and right-of-way. The track has been upgraded to match the rebuilt Roxbury sub, which has an MAS of 59 MPH for passenger trains.
Not out to set any speed records it looks like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRMTJp3F4-0
Especially the shot across the trestle......geesh, it might be faster walking there.
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