Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Tue Oct 12, 2021 4:54 pm
Gents, let us not lose sight that states subsidize trains with the intent of bringing people to attractions WITHIN their state, and not for people to ride THROUGH their state.
While an overnight train on a schedule emulating the Montrealer or the Montreal Limited (did the Rutland RR ever have one of such???) could attract end point patronage, it's not going to do much for the attractions in Vermont or the Adirondack region of NY.
The Rutland operated a night train called
The Mount Royal in conjunction with the NY Central and the B&M. Boston & NY sections were split/combined at Rutland. Boston section was handed off to the B&M at Bellows Falls and reached North Station via the Cheshire Branch and Fitchburg. NY section was handed off to the B&M at North Bennington, then to the NYC at Troy. The daytime counterpart was
The Green Mountain Flyer.
As for bringing people INTO their states-- yes, that's absolutely true. And that's why VT wants service to Montreal, which is by far the closest major city to northern Vermont. Burlington is 70 miles from Montreal as the crow flies; its 180 miles to Boston and 270 miles to New York. Rutland is equidistant between Boston and Montreal but there are a couple mountain ranges between there and the New England coast.
Even allowing for whatever security-theater shenanigans would have to go on at the international border in East Alburgh, Burlington is a no-brainer in terms of passenger rail distance. And the population of the Montreal metro area is >3x the population of the entire State of Vermont.
Now since it *is* that close there's nothing that would preclude an overnight service, since a 6pm departure from Montreal would imply an arrival in Burlington sometime between 8 or 9. I don't think this is what VT is looking to do, but it's not an absurdity.