by Scott Ornstein and Kent Patterson/photos as noted
Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express (trains 291 northbound and 290 southbound) was at long last extended to Burlington, Vermont’s largest city, on July 29, 2022. From the time of the train’s debut in 1996, its northern terminus was in Rutland, in south-central Vermont. Burlington had last seen regular intercity rail passenger service in 1953, when Rutland Railroad passenger operations were suspended.
Active efforts to reach Burlington with Amtrak service started in 2005, with the first of several federal grants — $30 mil-lion for track improvements — obtained by U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords (I-Vt.). Momentum then stalled for several years in a dry spell for passenger rail development, but progress resumed in 2013 when a series of piecemeal grants allowed this project to continue. Annual funding came in small increments, often less than $10 million at a time, with the money targeted for specific projects including welded-rail track improvements, a major bridge/tunnel project in downtown Middlebury, a new layover track and facility in Burlington yard, crossing upgrades, track realignment at Burlington Union Station, and new station platforms. There were also matching contributions from the state of Vermont and Vermont Rail System (VRS, the host railroad north of Whitehall, N.Y.). This project also en-joyed bipartisan political support from its origins through completion.
ABOVE: Night had fallen by the time of the Ethan Allen’s arrival at Burlington. —Scott Ornstein photo
Your co-authors were unable to make it to Burlington for the inaugural runs in July 2022, but with the days getting longer as the one-year anniversary of this extension approached, we felt that mid-May 2023 was a good time to make this long-awaited trip, so we ventured north to Burlington and back to New York City on the Ethan Allen Express.
NorthboundTrip
The Ethan Allen Express was last covered in PTJ Issue 269 (2016-4), with an update in Issue 293 (2022-4). Not much of the route has changed between New York City and Rutland since that 2016 story ran, except for the opening of the Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station. That’s where Scott boarded the train for this trip, while Kent joined at Croton-Harmon.
ABOVE: Passengers board the southbound train at Castleton, Vt. —Scott Ornstein photo
The contrast between the old Penn Station and Moynihan is quite stark. Granted, the Long Island Rail Road concourse has been greatly improved in recent years, with a new street entrance from 7th Avenue, and a newly constructed ceiling which is much higher than it was before. Still, this subterranean accessway leaves much to be desired. Boarding a short escalator from LIRR’s “lower” level to the “upper” level, travelers are deposited right in front of the 2002-vintage NJ Transit concourse. Not much has changed here since it was constructed. Some feel that it looks dated now, and that would not be totally inaccurate, but it really is fine. Walking west on this level, travelers come to the former Amtrak concourse, which is now only used by NJTransit. This area does look dated (and it is), and while Amtrak trains are posted on the information monitors in this part of the complex, there are no Amtrak services available here.
All Amtrak operations have moved across 8th Avenue to the Moynihan Train Hall, accessed using an escalator from what was Amtrak’s concourse leading to the corner of 8th Avenue and West 33rd Street, thence across the avenue and into the new facility. All Amtrak trains can be reached from here, and most, though not all, NJ Transit trains can be too (unless your train is departing from Tracks 1-4, which cannot be accessed from Moynihan). Mimicking the original Penn Station’s soaring arches and natural light, Moynihan provides a more-than-acceptable gateway to New York City, which is exactly what Amtrak intended. The concourse is open and airy, and information and Amtrak services are readily available. There is also a food court and restrooms, which, several years after originally opening, are still in very good condition…
