by Jeff Smith
In the news: VT Digger
Brief, fair-use quote:
Brief, fair-use quote:
COMMUTER RAIL STUDY FACES OLD QUESTIONS, NEW OPPORTUNITIES
Under the terms of legislation recently signed by Gov. Peter Shumlin, the Agency of Transportation (VTrans) is preparing to study possibilities for commuter rail service that would connect Burlington with Montpelier and St. Albans. It’s an idea that state planners have looked at several times before and rejected, but the notion continues to attract interest.
“We receive a lot of questions all the time about, ‘When will there be commuter rail between Burlington and Montpelier?’” VTrans deputy secretary Chris Cole said. “The goal of this study is to ascertain when it will be feasible on a cost-benefit basis to fund such a commuter train.”
In response to a legislative request, VTrans will broaden the study’s geographic scope to include St. Albans. A single line connects the Rail City with Montpelier via Essex Junction, from which another line proceeds 8 miles into downtown Burlington. The latter route is in poor condition, however, and would require major investments to be brought up to passenger service standards.
A 1991 study commissioned by VTrans found that commuter service connecting Burlington with St. Albans and Montpelier would attract 641 riders daily, and the fares would cover only about 17 percent of the service’s cost. Two years later, another VTrans-commissioned study produced even more dismal numbers and concluded that “the population densities in the State would not support regular commuter rail service, (although) there is strong evidence to support a Shelbume Road Reconstruction Demonstration Service as part of a total traffic mitigation program.” That finding led to the inauguration in 2000, under Gov. Howard Dean’s administration, of a Charlotte-Burlington commuter train that Dean’s successor, Jim Douglas, pulled the plug on in 2003.
Next stop, Willoughby
~el Jefe :: RAILROAD.NET Site Administrator/Co-Owner; Carman at Naugatuck Railroad
YouTube Instagram Facebook
~el Jefe :: RAILROAD.NET Site Administrator/Co-Owner; Carman at Naugatuck Railroad
YouTube Instagram Facebook