ETHAN ALLEN EXPRESS

LEGEND

Supporting States: New York and Vermont

The Ethan Allen Express provides daily rail service connecting Rutland, VT and New York City via Saratoga Springs, Albany, and Poughkeepsie, NY. Connecting rail service continues to Washington, DC via specific, scheduled Amtrak trains and to regional commuter rail services including Metro-North Railroad, Long Island Railroad, and NJ Transit as well as NYC Transit at New York. Amtrak Thruway Bus service connects Rutland on to the resort area of Killington, VT. Ethan Allen Express

Ethan Allen Express

ROUTE CHARACTERISTICS/SUMMARY Sources: Amtrak State Fact Sheets and Schedule; National Association of Rail Passengers Fact Sheets (2017)

Route Distance 241 miles (Rutland, VT to New York City (Penn Station)) Average Trip Distance (2016) 189 miles Trips by Length (2016) 0-99 mi: 5.6% 100-199 mi: 62.1% 200-299 mi: 32.3% Scheduled Time Length of Route Approximately 5 hours and 30 minutes (schedule varies by day of week) Frequency Daily Operating Entity Amtrak Scheduled Trains Southbound: Train 290 (M-F), Train 292 (Sa), Train 296 (Su) Northbound: Train 291 (M-Th), Train 295 (SaSu), Train 293 (Fr) Number of stations 12 cities in 2 states (2 in VT and 10 in NY) Ridership level (2016) 49,915 Relation to other Amtrak/ Specific connecting Amtrak trains from NYC-Penn Station on to passenger rail services and DC in Amtrak schedule. Connections to other Amtrak routes, Thruway connections regional commuter rail services, and transit at NYC-Penn Station. Connections with local transit services at major stations along route. Thruway bus connection from Rutland to Killington, VT. Host railroad(s) Canadian Pacific Railway (CP), CSX Transportation (CSX), Metro- North Railroad (MNRR), Vermont Railway System (VTR), Amtrak- Empire Corridor

Page 1 Ethan Allen Express

Annual Passengers (2011-2016)

2011 48,437

2012 52,812

2013 52,061

2014 51,728

2015 51,859

2016 49,915

46,000 47,000 48,000 49,000 50,000 51,000 52,000 53,000 54,000

Top City Pairs, 2016

By Ridership By Revenue 1. New York, NY - Saratoga Springs, NY 178 mi 1. New York, NY - Saratoga Springs, NY 178 mi

2. New York, NY - Rutland, VT 241 mi 2. New York, NY - Rutland, VT 241 mi

3. New York, NY - Schenectady, NY 159 mi 3. Fort Edward, NY - New York, NY 197 mi

4. Fort Edward, NY - New York, NY 197 mi 4. New York, NY - Schenectady, NY 159 mi

5. Castleton, VT - New York, NY 232 mi 5. Castleton, VT - New York, NY 232 mi

Activity by Station, 2014-2016 Station 2014 2015 2016 Station 2014 2015 2016 Albany- 1,374 1,151 1,239 Poughkeepsie 1,432 1,273 1,300 Rensselaer

Castleton 4,404 4,587 4,452 Rhinecliff 422 335 332

Croton- 1,263 1,206 1,233 Rutland 16,486 16,325 14,099 Harmon

Fort Edward 5,211 5,077 5,609 Saratoga 18,825 19,962 19,112 Springs

Hudson 511 412 389 Schenectady 8,454 7,812 7,956

New York 44,077 44,509 43,169 Yonkers 997 1,069 940

Page 2 Ethan Allen Express GOVERNANCE

State-funded service, funded jointly by New York DOT and Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) The Amtrak Ethan Allen Express is supported by the states of New York and Vermont. Host railroads in New York include the Metro-North Railroad, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP), and CSX. The Vermont Railway System shortline rail system (Clarendon & Pittsford Railroad) is the host railroad over most of the current Vermont trackage. The Ethan Allen shares most of its route within New York with the Adirondack service which is also supported by New York DOT.

HISTORY The Ethan Allen Express service started in December 1996 along the Empire Corridor/Hudson River Valley route from New York to Albany and on to Rutland, Vermont near the popular ski/resort area in Killington.1 This was the first time that rail service had been provided in this corridor in over 40 years over most of the route and even longer for part of the route in Vermont.2 Although VTrans proposed cancelling the service in 2008 and 2009 as a cost-cutting measure, this proposal was not adopted and policy has shifted to making improvements to further enhance train service. The state has studied and begun improvements to potentially extend the Ethan Allen Express northward to Burlington via Middlebury from its current terminus in Rutland in order to better serve the western part of the state which is not served by an interstate highway.3 Investments associated with two Federal TIGER grants in 2013 and 2016 continue along the proposed extension route but overall track conditions to operate on the route at 59 mph are not yet completed. Current plans are that the extension could be in service in 2021.

The Amtrak Ethan Allen Express

Source: NE Rail.org, Available: http://photos.nerail.org/photos/2014/07/22/2014072214544123203.jpg

1 Vermont Transportation Agency (VTrans), Vermont State Rail Plan 2015, Available at: http://vtrans.vermont.gov/sites/aot/files/rail/VT%20State%20Rail%20Plan_Final.pdf, Accessed: November 26, 2017. 2 Amtrak, Historic Timeline, Available at: https://history.amtrak.com/amtraks-history/historic-timeline, Accessed: November 26, 2017. 3 VTrans, State Rail Plan 2015.

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