DRAFT

Regional Rail Service The Way

Authored by Christopher Parker and Carl Fowler November 30, 2017

Contents Contents 2 Executive Summary 4 The Budd Car RDC Advantage 5 Project System Description 6 Routes 6 Schedule 7 Major Employers and Markets 8 Commuter vs. Intercity Designation 10 Project Developer 10 Stakeholders 10 Transportation organizations 10 Town and City Governments 11 Colleges and Universities 11 Resorts 11 Host Railroads 11 Vermont Rail Systems 11 Central Railroad 12 12 Possible contract operators 12 Dispatching 13 Liability Insurance 13 Tracks and Right-of-Way 15 Upgraded 15 Safety: Grade Crossing Upgrades 15 Proposed Standard 16 Upgrades by segment 16 Cost of Upgrades 17 Safety 19 Platforms and Stations 20 Proposed Stations 20 Existing Stations 22 Construction Methods of New Stations 22 Current and Historical Precedents 25 Rail in Vermont 25 Service in the 27 New Mexico 27 27 Oregon 28 and Rural 28 Rural 28

Executive Summary For more than twenty years various studies have responded to a yearning in Vermont for a regional passenger rail service which would connect Vermont towns and cities. This White Paper, commissioned by Champ P3, LLC reviews the opportunities for and obstacles to delivering rail service at a rural scale appropriate for a rural state. Champ P3 is a mission driven public-private partnership modeled on the Eagle P3 which built ’s new network.

Vermont’s two railroads, Vermont Rail System and Genesee & Wyoming, have experience hosting and operating commuter rail service utilizing Budd cars. Twelve rebuilt Budd cars have been purchased and are in good condition. The Budd cars offer a lighter footprint of capital and operating costs and a significant reduction in greenhouse gasses.

Three routes are discussed: 1.) St. Albans to Burlington/Essex Junction, 2.) Montpelier/Barre to Burlington, 3.) Rutland to Burlington.

The routes total 142 miles of which 125 miles are operated or planned to be operated by Amtrak and are already rated for 59 mph passenger service.

Amtrak’s operates from Montpelier Junction through Waterbury and Essex Junction to St. Albans on track owned by Genesee & Wyoming’s New England Central Railroad that was rebuilt with ARRA funds for the purpose of enhanced passenger service. Amtrak’s will soon be extended north from Rutland through Middlebury to downtown Burlington. The track is being rebuilt to 59 mph.

Service could supplement, not replace, existing LINK commuter busses. The railroad passes close to several large employers the LINK does not reach, notably the Global Foundries , Fletcher-Allen’s Fanny Allen campus and Saint Michael’s College. The LINK, will better serve the , Fletcher Allen’s main campus and National Life. Twenty-four major employers are adjacent or very close to the tracks and are identified within this White Paper.

Passenger equipment has been purchased and the majority of track identified in suggested routes is already rated for passenger service. The one-size-fits-all approach to urban rail service, does not always apply to a regional rural approach or as we call it, The Vermont Way.

The Budd Car RDC Advantage AllEarth Rail, LLC has purchased a fleet of self-propelled rail- diesel cars (RDC) which may be deployed to provide Vermont’s Regional Rail Service. This White Paper outlines several possible service scenarios using the fully renovated RDC cars.

From 1949 to 1962 the Budd Company built a highly successful series of stainless steel, self-propelled passenger cars for many railroads. Mounting engines under the cars allowed without locomotives and provided a fuel savings. AllEarth Rail has purchased and transported to Vermont a fleet of 12 cars, all of which were rebuilt and are reliable and comfortable.

This equipment was used from 1995 to 2012 in the Dallas to Fort Worth, TX area, running as the Trinity Rail Express (TRE). TRE was operated by Herzog. TRE acquired the cars in well- maintained condition from . They were extensively renovated by TRE to “like-new” condition and approved by the FRA for operation. AllEarth Rail also purchased an extensive inventory of spare parts to support future operations.

The environmental benefits of self-propelled RDC railcars are well established. A four-car locomotive hauled burns 2.23 gallons per mile on average compared to an RDC which uses 0.42 gallons per mile. RDC cars have a long history of service in New England. The largest fleet of RDC cars in the 1950s/60s was owned by the and Maine RR. The B&M ran RDC services over virtually its entire network. An example was the combined Boston- “” service, which divided at Wells River, VT into shorter trains to both Montreal (over lines of the Pacific) and Berlin, NH. For several years the Springfield to Montreal daylight “” train was operated with RDC cars. RDCs were not used on the Rutland RR, as it exited the passenger business too early for RDCs, but the Central Vermont, Canadian Pacific and Boston and Maine lines in Vermont all hosted a variety of RDC trains. These services ended around the time Interstates 89 and 91 were built.

A critical advantage of RDC cars is their ability to operate with a very efficient staffing level. An RDC can potentially be operated with only an engineer (driver) and certainly with no more than a two-person crew. A locomotive hauled Amtrak train requires 3-5 employees, depending on the length of the train. RDCs also require much less elaborate stations and can rapidly accelerate, allowing better overall schedules with the more frequent stops characteristic of a regional service than with locomotive hauled trains.

Each RDC has two engines and is equipped to move in either direction without needing to be turned around to change directions. Additionally, the cars can be coupled and uncoupled permitting the RDCs to divide and move in different directions. For example, two coupled cars coming up from Montpelier might arrive in Essex Junction: one car could go north to St. Albans, and a second car could move on to Union Station in Burlington. Project System Description Routes It is currently possible to have service over three lines—essentially interconnecting Vermont cities and towns. The network could have trains serving:

• Rutland and Burlington, a 67-mile run using newly renovated 59mph Class Three track on the Vermont Rail System mainline all the way. Middlebury and Shelburne are the largest communities enroute. Amtrak’s extended Ethan Allen will take this route and will stop at Middlebury and Vergennes. Large employers exist at Rutland, Middlebury and Burlington. • Burlington and Essex Junction, the core of the network, an 8-mile connection between Vermont’s two largest cities, passing through Winooski. Tracks are owned by the New England Central Railroad and operated at class 1 standards (15 mph). Additionally, along this route are o Global Foundaries o The Fanny Allen campus of Fletcher Allen Health Care o St. Michael's College o Burlington a short shuttle ride south. • St. Albans/Essex Jct. (and on to Burlington), a 26-mile run on tracks operated by the NECR at 59 mph and used by Amtrak’s Vermonter. Major employment centers are at St. Albans and Global Foundries in Essex Junction as noted above. Amtrak stops at Essex Junction and St. Albans. Milton is an additional significant online town. • Barre/Montpelier, Essex Jct. (and on to Burlington), a 40-mile run using track operated by the New England Central Railroad at 59 mph for 32 miles and then VRS/Washington County Railroad for 7.7 miles from Barre to Montpelier Jct. The Washington County Railroad will need to be rebuilt. A major employer is the State of Vermont and communities along the route include Waterbury, Montpelier and Barre. Amtrak’s Vermonter runs much of this route.

Service as suggested above could be built in stages. Track from Burlington to Rutland and between St. Albans, Essex Jct., and Montpelier Jct. is already in FRA Class Three 59 mph passenger speed condition. The renovation of the 8-mile Burlington to Essex Jct. branch to Class Two, 35mph conditions is essential. The Burlington-Rutland route is currently being upgraded for the extension of the Ethan Allen.

The routes total 142 miles of which 125 miles are operated or planned to be operated by Amtrak and are already in good shape for passenger operations.

Schedule

It is premature to define schedules. Service might operate on the full network of lines identified above or a subset. The public planning process starts with a need, engages with the community and builds a service around it. The service on the lines could be operated with four train sets and limited to five round trips on each segment. An additional round trip will be operated by Amtrak on some routes. Rail service could complement rather than replace existing Link bus service. Link bus service could continue to serve the large employment centers of the University of Vermont, Fletcher Allen and National Life directly with no change. Meanwhile rail will directly serve Vermont’s largest employer, Global Foundaries, the Fanny Allen campus and St. Michael's College. Other large employers in Burlington, South Burlington, Middlebury, Waterbury and Montpelier could be served by both.

The route to Rutland, could complement the projected Amtrak service providing a morning run into Burlington and an evening return. Exact timings have not been determined.

Major Employers and Markets The system could serve commuters going to work, students traveling to school, medical trips, personal business, sporting events, ski resorts and visits to friends and family.

Major Employers1:

1. Fletcher Allen Health Care 4,800 employees Dedicated station: Winooski Fanny Allen Campus Shuttle bus: main campus 2. University of Vermont 3,777 employees Shuttle bus 3. Global Foundaries 5,300 employees Dedicated station 4. State of Vermont Washington County 2 3,594 employees Rail stations: Montpelier and Waterbury 5. State of Vermont Chittenden County 1,634 employees Rail stations and shuttle bus 6. Middlebury College 1,217 employees Walking distance to station 7. Dealer.com 1,200 employees Walking distance to station 8. People’s United Bank 1,202 employees Walking distance to station 9. Green Mountain Coffee 884 employees Walking distance to station: Waterbury 10. Howard Center 810 employees Walking distance to station: Burlington 11. National Life 750 employees Shuttle Bus: Montpelier 12. Ben & Jerry’s 735 employees Adjacent to tracks: St. Albans 13. Burton Snowboard 600 employees Adjacent to tracks: South Burlington 14. TD Bank 550 employees Walking distance to station: Burlington 15. Cabot Creamery 530 employees Adjacent to tracks: Middlebury 16. Baird School 500 employees Walking distance to station: South Burlington

1 http://nextupvt.com/articles/work/largest-employers-vermont 2 http://humanresources.vermont.gov/sites/humanresources/files/documents/Workforce_Data/DHR- Workforce_Report.pdf 17. New England Culinary Institute 500 employees Shuttle bus 18. Porter Medical Center 483 employees Adjacent to tracks: Middlebury 19. Mylan Technologies 450 employees Adjacent to tracks: St. Albans 20. St. Michael's College 410 employees Walking distance 21. Vermont Energy Investment Corporation 300 employees Dedicated station 22. Vermont Student Assistance Corp 254 employees Walking distance 23. Chocolates 180 employees Walking distance 24. Seventh Generation 140 employees Union Station: Burlington

The Link bus has captured an astounding 50% of the market in the areas it serves, demonstrating the value of quality public transit.

Global Foundries: right on the rail line:

Commuter vs. Intercity Designation For fifty years US passenger rail service has been bifurcated between and commuter operations. As a practical matter, the same train can serve both markets and historically this was often the case, but today different funding sources (Federal Railroad Administration for intercity trains and Federal Transit Administration for commuter) have led to different regulations for new starts.

There is much about this project that could fit the commuter model, for example, running at peak hours with most trips an hour or less. The 10 RDC’s from do not have bathrooms, being built for trips of less than an hour. Additionally, they are equipped with 3-2 commuter style seats.

The differences in accessibility regulations will affect service in two ways: at stations and regarding bathrooms on board. FTA requires full-length high-level platforms while FRA regulations can maintain handicap access using low-level platforms and lifts. A train made up of two Budd cars (which have doors immediately adjacent to each other) the “full-length” platform Former TRE Budd Car Interior could be short and constructed inexpensively.

FRA regulations for intercity trains require an accessible bathroom on every car; FTA regulations do not. This difference recognizes the different length of trips. Bathrooms would have to be installed or a waiver obtained unless the service is designated as a commuter operation.

The choice of designation needs to be justified. A commuter oriented operation can also connect with Amtrak.

Project Developer Champ P3, LLC, is a mission driven public private partnership, modeled after the Eagle P3, in Denver. Champ is a non-profit organization and is serving as the project developer. Lee Khan is the Director of Champ P3. Board members include:

• Brian Searles, Chair, Former Vermont Secretary of Transportation • Scott Johnstone • David Wulfson • David Blittersdorf • Richard Watts • Tom Torti • Matt Dunne • John Kassell, Champ P3 General Counsel

Stakeholders Transportation organizations • Burlington International Airport • • Campus Area Transportation Management Association (CATMA)

Town and City Governments • Barre • Burlington • Essex Junction • Middlebury • Middlesex • Montpelier • Richmond • Rutland • St. Albans • Shelburne • South Burlington • Vergennes • Waterbury • Winooski

Colleges and Universities • University of Vermont • St. Michaels College • • Middlebury College • Castleton State College • St. Joseph’s College • New England Culinary Institute • Vermont Community College • Norwich University

Resorts • Jay Peak • Stowe • Mad River Glen • Sugarbush • Middlebury Snow Bowl Host Railroads Vermont Rail Systems The Vermont Rail System will host a daily Amtrak train projected to begin service to Burlington by 2021. The company has been in business since 1964, owned and operated by the Wulfson family. On average, one daily freight train runs north to Burlington, carrying feed grain, limestone products, lumber, ballast, fly ash, rock salt, gasoline, heating oil and other commodities. A daytime switcher works Burlington yard and an evening road switcher serves half a dozen customers between Burlington and Middlebury. VRS has run excursion trains for many years. In 2017 excursion trains ran between Burlington and Middlebury, Chester, Rockingham and Ludlow and White River Jct. and St. Johnsbury. Special event trains included the 4th of July fireworks show at Burlington and the Polar Express at Christmas. New England Central Railroad The New England Central Railroad (NECR), a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming has headquarters in Worcester, Massachusetts. NECR’s operates the former Central Vermont from the Canadian border south through St. Albans, Essex Junction, Waterbury and Montpelier Junction (and on to southern New England). Burlington and Winooski are served by the Burlington branch from Essex Junction.

New England Central has been in operation since 1995. While NECR owns the tracks, the underlying property is still owned by Canadian National. A five day a week road freight runs from St Albans to Southern New England on the mainline. A 25-car wood chip unit train runs from St. Albans to Burlington Electric on the Burlington branch and a local runs several times a week from St. Albans to Burlington and back with interchange traffic for Vermont Rail System. Amtrak Amtrak is not a host railroad however intercity passenger service in Vermont is currently offered by state supported Amtrak trains on two routes.

The Amtrak VERMONTER uses the NECR from St. Albans to the Massachusetts line, enroute south to and Washington, D.C. The uses the VRS/Clarendon and Pittsford line from Rutland, VT to Whitehall, NY, enroute to Albany and New York City.

Amtrak’s Vermonter is in the process of being extended north to Montreal, pending completion of pre- clearance facilities in . Amtrak’s Ethan Allen will be extended north through Middlebury to Burlington pending completion of a bridge project in Middlebury. Amtrak owns no track in Vermont; it is a tenant of the two freight railroads, VRS and NECR. Each of these railroads has achieved the highest level of on-time performance for any Amtrak freight railroad host.

Possible contract operators Potential passenger service operators exist:

Vermont Rail System: Operator of previous commuter rail service in Vermont

Genesee & Wyoming: Portland, Oregon’s commuter rail service, the WES, is operated by the Portland & Western Railroad which is owned by G&W and dispatched from St. Albans, VT.

Herzog: Transit America Operator of several commuter rail systems

AllEarth Rail Shop, Barre VT (Former Bombardier plant) First Group Owner of Greyhound and world’s largest passenger rail operator

Keolis: Owned by French SNCF, operator of MBTA and VRE trains

Veolia: Global rail company previously operator of MBTA commuter trains

Central Maine & Railroad: Owned by Fortress

Amtrak

Finger Lakes Railroad: Budd car and passenger operating experience

These firms have experience running passenger trains. First Group, Keolis and Veolia are global rail contractors with extensive operations in Europe and some presence in the US. Each company has a fine or excellent safety record. VRS, G&W, CMQ, and Amtrak are experienced operators in Vermont. VRS and NECR have local crew bases and maintenance shops in Vermont. Drumac has the contract to inspect and service Amtrak’s Vermonter in St. Albans. Vermont Rail System has the contract to clean and service Amtrak’s Ethan Allen in Rutland. Progressive Rail has a car repair shop in St. Albans. Other equipment servicing companies with a national presence exist and might be interested.

Dispatching Dispatching of the services could be handled by Vermont’s operating railroads over their company owned districts. Burlington and south along the Westside Corridor would be dispatched by the Vermont Rail System.

The Burlington branch and the mainline from St. Albans to Montpelier Jct. would be dispatched by the New England Central Railroad. The branch line from Montpelier Jct. to Montpelier and Barre is operated by the Washington County Railroad, a subsidiary of the VRS system and would therefore also be dispatched by VRS.

Vermont Rail System is dispatched from Rutland Vermont. In the past this office has provided dispatching services for other short line railroads. New England Central Railroad is dispatched from St Albans, Vermont. Over the past 15 years this office has come to dispatch short line railroads in the Genesee & Wyoming system.

Liability Insurance The operator of Vermont’s Budd car service will acquire liability insurance. The levels of this coverage vary dramatically around the United States. In general Amtrak is self-insured and has the statutory right to operate over all US rail lines, subject to the development of cost reimbursement agreements with its various host rail carriers. Independent interstate rail operators have typically been required by the host railroads to obtain at a minimum $250,000,000 in coverage in recent years. It is worth noting that this exceeds the Federal liability maximum coverage requirement, which sets damages for a single incident or accident at $200,000,000 (US Code 28103).

Passenger train operations confined to a single state have been authorized to run with coverage levels of $3,000,000 to $5,000,000. These lower limits in some cases are applied solely to defined “tourist railroads.” For example, Title XXII, Chapter 160, Section 234 of Massachusetts state law limits “tourist railroad” coverage limits to $3,000,000. Kentucky has a $5,000,000 limitation for “Special Passenger Excursion Trains”.

The regional rail service using the Budd cars, envisions more than a tourist-only service. A model for Vermont could be legislation passed in Maine and which establishes a limit at $75,000,000.

Maine Revised Statutes Title 23: TRANSPORTATION Chapter 621: PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE

§8012. PASSENGER RAIL LIABILITY LIMITATION

In the event one or more passenger rail service providers are protected by a liability insurance policy covering liability for property damage, personal injury, bodily injury and death arising from rail incidents or accidents occurring in this State involving passenger trains with policy limits of not less than $75,000,000 per occurrence annually and $75,000,000 in the aggregate annually regardless of the number of passenger rail service providers protected by such an insurance policy, each passenger rail service provider protected by such an insurance policy is not liable in excess of the coverage limits of such an insurance policy for any and all claims for damage, whether compensatory or punitive, for property damage, personal injury, bodily injury or death arising out of such rail incidents or accidents. For purposes of this section, "passenger rail service provider" includes for-profit and nonprofit corporations and legal entities that own, lease, operate or manage passenger trains or passenger rail service; the authority; railroad companies that own, lease, provide track rights to or maintain rail lines over which passenger trains pass; and operators of passenger train services. "Passenger rail service provider" does not include the National Railroad Passenger Corporation or its successor organization. This section does not affect immunities, limitation on damages, limitation of actions, limitation of liability or other protections provided to the State as defined in Title 14, section 8102, subsection 4. [2005, c. 312, §6 (RPR).]

Tracks and Right-of-Way

Upgraded Track Most (125 miles) of the track needed is in excellent FRA (Federal Railroad Administration) Class Three condition, allowing 59mph maximum passenger speeds. This is a significant advantage that allows rural scale service at low cost.

However, two segments (7.8 miles each) will require renovations. These segments are the VRS/Washington County Railroad track from Barre to Montpelier Jct. and the NECR Burlington Branch from Essex Jct. to Burlington. Funding for these renovations must be obtained and the needed work completed before the trains from St. Albans and Barre/Montpelier to Burlington can begin service. The Burlington branch needs new rail and ties and surfacing. The Washington County Montpelier & Barre branch needs to be reconstructed including bridge work. Two bridges are located between Montpelier Junction and Montpelier and five between Montpelier and Barre. Most bridges on the WACR are in very poor shape.

Laying new welded rail and upgrading the ties and surfacing of a rail line could cost a million dollars a mile or more.3 Cost for fixing bridges varies considerably.

In addition to the two branches, the New England Central Railroad mainline in northern Vermont is capacity constrained, due to passing sidings in disrepair. There are passing tracks at Waterbury, Bolton, Richmond, Milton and Oakland. New or rebuilt sidings on Vermont Rail System may be required as well. An average cost for upgrading a siding is $1 million.4

Safety: Grade Crossing Upgrades

An increased number of trains will raise the risk of a grade crossing collision. This risk can be mitigated by installing flashers or gates. Upgraded protection lowers collision risk. The FRA has established a formula for predicting grade crossing collisions that considers train and road traffic and speed and crossing protection weighted by frequency of collisions in the last five years.

Change the variables, like line speed and number of trains and the calculation of predicted collisions changes. But installing gates and flashers will lower the predicted collision risk. Installing gates will decrease collisions by 89% over a crossing with only a sign and by 44% over a crossing with only flashers present5.

In our region, weighting results based on past collisions distorts the results as there have been only three collisions (each at different locations) during the past five years on considered routes.

The Federal Railroad Administration recommends that new service have automated warning systems where warranted and encourages the closure of crossings entirely. The question of where warning systems are warranted is not defined.

3 Quandel Consultants, LLC © Page 9 Cost Estimating Methodology for HSR on Shared Right-of-Way April 18, 2011. This figure is in line with recent Vtrans estimates. 4 Ibid 5 Federal Railroad Administration Grade Crossing Handbook There are no specific FRA requirements for crossing protection at speeds being contemplated. States use an approach of prioritizing crossings for federal upgrade funds based on predicted collision risk but do not normally consider specific standards for crossings. The question only comes up in the context of new service.

The question is essentially subjective – and political: what level of risk is acceptable? Compounding the issue is that other parts of the highway network are either more dangerous or give a higher cost-benefit ratio for improving safety than crossings which are not normally priorities in the context of highway safety, yet they are the most dangerous part of the railroad network.

Vermont’s rail plan recommends all crossings on passenger operated lines have gates. This recommendation is in line with some other states such as Gated crossing on New England Central Railroad North Carolina.

Proposed Standard The proposed standard for discussion purposes is:

1. Gated Crossings for roads with more than 600 auto crossings per day. 2. Flasher crossings for roads with between 100 and 599 crossings per day 3. Crossbuck sign or unsignaled for less than 100 crossings per day.

Upgrades by segment St. Albans to Essex Junction to Montpelier Junction

The New England Central Railroad mainline from St. Albans to Essex Junction to Montpelier Junction, hosting Amtrak’s Vermonter has 32 crossings, 26 already feature gates, 5 have flashers and there is one crossing with only , but it only sees 62 cars a day. Two of the five crossings with flashers are in Essex Junction on Central Street (1,610 auto crossings) and Route 117 (9,500 auto crossings) An additional crossing is in Montpelier Junction (1,500 auto crossings).

Essex Junction to Burlington

The New England Central Railroad’s, Burlington Branch from Essex Junction to Burlington has 10 crossings, of which seven have flashers, 1 – Barlow St. in Winooski - has a gate, two on Burlington’s waterfront have only crossbucks and Intervale Ave has a . Five crossings with flashers would need gates added. The other (Woodside Acres) has only 10 cars a day. Lake Sreet, now with a crossbuck sign might receive flashers as trains would be moving slowly approaching Burlington Station, not at passenger train speeds and the street is a slow safe road. College St in Burlington now with crossbuck signs only has only 282 cars a day to the Echo museum where trains will run slow. Intervale Ave sees only 28 cars a day and crossbucks should be added.

Burlington to Rutland

The Western Corridor from Rutland to Middlebury to Burlington is already receiving crossing upgrades as a prelude to extended Amtrak service. All 21 crossings will be upgraded. There is a quiet zone between Shelburne and South Burlington featuring quad gates.

Montpelier Junction to Barre

Washington County Railroad between Montpelier Junction and Barre has 27 crossings. Most have only a crossbucks sign, there being only 1 gate and three flashers presently on the route. Of the top 20 crossing in the region under present conditions, 17 have crossbuck signs. Suggested upgrades would see 19 gates and 1 flasher installed.

Cost of Upgrades Historical costs of upgrading Vermont crossings varies quite a bit. Without more detailed engineering studies of each crossing, the same number is used which VTrans typically has included in recent grant applications for a preliminary estimate: $600,0006 per crossing to upgrade with gates and reconstruct the crossing. Upgrading to flashers based on recent Vtrans crossing upgrade budgets are being estimated at $375,000 7.

The cost of upgrades is as follows:

• NECR Mainline (Essex Junction) $ 200,000 • NECR Mainline (Montpelier Junction) $ 100,000 • VTR Mainline (Rutland – Middlebury – Burlington) $ 0 • NECR Burlington – Essex Junction $ 875,000 • WACR Montpelier Jct – Montpelier $2,400,000 • Montpelier - Barre $9,975,000

Total Cost is $13,550,000

6 Tiger Grant spreadsheets presented to rail council 7 Figures included in annual rail budget from last several years

Safety Host railroads and the operating contractor would have the primary responsibility of ensuring safe operation.

Host railroads would be responsible for service in their emergency plan and working with local first responders as they already do. Each freight railroad already has an emergency plan for passenger service which would be extended to new track segments.

Track Warrant control involves trains receiving verbal permission from dispatchers to occupy track between specified limits. A standardized form is used and read back to the dispatcher. Dispatchers use a computer system to verify that permission is not accidentally given twice over the same trackage.

Passenger trains operating under the authority of track warrant control may only operate up to 59 mph. Freight trains in this territory are limited to 40 mph. Switches are hand operated except for the Essex Junction and Saint Albans interlockings. As a safety precaution all crews are required to report back to the dispatcher that all switches moved have been returned to the regular direction.

This territory is largely flat and grades are moderate.

A quiet zone has existed in South Burlington and Shelburne for more than 15 years. This section is equipped with quad gates. There is one tunnel, the 340-foot North Ave tunnel located just northeast of Burlington Union station. The tunnel was relined in 2008 with shotcrete and is rated in excellent condition with 50 years of life. Passenger trains can pass without issue, but height is limited to 17 feet allowing only “plate C” dimension cars.

Vermont has recently revitalized its Operation Lifesaver program. States with strong Operation Lifesaver programs have typically seen a reduction in grade crossing deaths.

Platforms and Stations Proposed Stations In general, there are three kinds of markets served by stations:

● Employment destinations and downtowns ● Population Centers where a high percentage of riders will walk to the station ● Park & Ride facilities that will draw riders from some distance and where access to main roads is important.

Station locations represent development opportunities. Station locations have yet to be determined. The following are some notes regarding possible stations. It is expected that station locations will evolve in conjunction with community input. Equally significant are the stations not proposed. A concentration of markets should be present to justify stopping.

ST. ALBANS Existing Amtrak station with new platform and enclosed waiting area staffed with Amtrak caretaker. Adjacent to Genesee & Wyoming dispatching Center and Mylon Technologies, a major employer. Downtown is a 1 block walk. Parking available.

ST. ALBANS INDUSTRIAL PARK Major employment center including Ben & Jerry's with 700 jobs - one of Vermont's top employers. Not served by St. Albans Link bus

MILTON Significant sized town (population 10,352)

ESSEX JUNCTION Existing Amtrak Station located downtown about to receive a new platform. Enclosed waiting area that town is seeking to upgrade. Transit hub.

GLOBAL FOUNDRIES Vermont's largest employer with approximately 5,300 employees. CHAMPLAIN EXPO represents significant traffic.

FANNY ALLEN CAMPUS Major employer. Stopping right behind their campus as a separate stop from St. Michael's minimizes walking and maximizes market share

ST. MICHEAL’S/AIRPORT Walking distance to college, easy access from I-91 from the north and an easy bus shuttle to the airport.

WINOOSKI Tracks pass through downtown. Population 7,128 Vermont Student Assistance Corp (254 employees) is 1 block from tracks

BURLINGTON Existing station at Union Station. Walking distance to downtown and major employers like People's United Bank, TD Bank and Seventh Generation

SOUTH END Employment Center (Vermont Energy Investment Corp, dealer.com, Lake Champlain Chocolates and others) and large park & ride lot operated by CATMA

SOUTH BURLINGTON Major employers, VEIC, Dealer.Com, and Baird school are adjacent to track.

SHELBURNE Existing station equipped with mini-high platform. Largest population center south of Burlington. Population: 7,144

CHARLOTTE Existing station and park & ride lot. Low surrounding population.

FERRISBURG Village center is ⅓ mile walk east of former station

VERGENNES Large Park & Ride. Population 2,599. Tracks bypass downtown.

NEW HAVEN JUNCTION Tracks cross Route 7, 1.5 miles west of town of New Haven (population 1,700 and 5.6 miles west of Bristol (population 3,894). Parking would be necessary.

MIDDLEBURY Stop already planned on Amtrak Ethan Allen extension to Burlington. Middlebury College with 1,217 employees is one of Vermont’s largest employers. Middlebury population is 8,496

RICHMOND Population: 4,081 people. Link busses stop at park & ride north of town (and next to tracks). Historic rail stop was downtown.

WATERBURY Existing Amtrak stop downtown with new platform and indoor station waiting room and coffee shop. Large employer Green Mountain Coffee (884 employees) is adjacent to station. State office building (830 employees) is a 1 block walk from station.

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Adjacent to tracks at the foot of the National Life driveway.

MONTPELIER Proposed new intermodal center will be adjacent to tracks downtown and walking distance to Capitol and major state office buildings.

BARRE MONTPLIER Near traffic circle at Rt. 2/302

BARRE Existing station building is a gift shop downtown. There is no platform.

Existing Stations Stations used by Amtrak are located in Rutland, St. Albans, Essex Junction, Waterbury and Montpelier Junction.

St. Albans and Waterbury have brand new full-length low-level platforms equipped with hand cranked lifts, lighting, parking and indoor waiting areas. Waterbury station is home of a Green Mountain Coffee shop. Amtrak employs part-time caretakers at St. Albans, Essex Junction and Waterbury.

Existing stations built for the Flyer with low level platforms exist at Burlington Union Station, Shelburne and Charlotte. Burlington is equipped with a hand-cranked lift while Shelburne and Charlotte have “mini-high” platforms. Stations are planned at Vergennes and Middlebury for the extension of the Amtrak “Ethan Allen” from New York to Burlington.

Hand - cranked lifts at Burlington, St. Albans and Waterbury are the metal Amtrak standard design, on rollers. When not in use, lifts are locked in small sheds. Generally, lifts are moved into place by station caretakers and operated by train conductors.

Construction Methods of New Stations An advantage of Budd RDC equipment is that short trains mean short, less expensive platforms. At most new locations a simple “mini-high” platform constructed with wood, metal, concrete or earth/retaining wall would a cost-effective solution. These platforms are ADA compliant. A bridge plate will be necessary to allow platforms to be set back from tracks for freight traffic. Wheelchair access will be roll- on/roll-off.

Initially it will be important to Keep the stations simple, adding upgrades to enhance customer experience with additional lighting, paving, weather protection and landscaping. Other upgrades will come in conjunction with transit-oriented development.

Essex and Montpelier stations would be Typical “mini-high” platform on MBTA part of transit-oriented development on that site. Montpelier is already pursuing an intermodal transit center including a parking garage. Snow plowing, and maintenance could be handled by the local municipalities.

Examples of platforms:

Mini-high platform under construction at Buzzards Bay, MA. Simpler design.

The above picture depicts a platform on the MBTA Mattapan trolley line, but is shows a simple design method of construction that might be adapted for Vermont.

Off the shelf metal ramp costing $12,000. Combined with a raised platform and signs and station is complete.

Low-level platform at Essex junction with hand-cranked lift at lower left moved into position by caretaker (waving at train).

Current and Historical Precedents Rail in Vermont Rail passenger service has a long history in Vermont, beginning in 1844. In the early 20th century Vermont supported passenger train services statewide, with direct daylight and overnight trains from as far away as New York and Washington, D.C. Multiple carriers worked together to run these trains in cooperation with the three principal lines within Vermont, the Rutland Railroad, Central (CV) and the joint Boston and Maine (B&M)/ (CPR) systems.

Branch line/secondary trains began to vanish in the 1930s. Operations on longer-distance routes remained remarkably stable until the mid-1950s. The gradual loss of mail, express and milk business, combined with the lure of the private auto on improved paved (and Interstate) highways, led to the withdrawal of Vermont’s traditional passenger trains. The Rutland RR was the first to completely exit the passenger business in 1953. The B&M/CPR route closed in 1965 and Vermont’s final traditional services over the Central Vermont line ended on September 3, 1966. Yet a long-term service revival was only six years away!

Amtrak resumed the “” overnight service on the Central Vermont route between Washington D.C.—New York—Vermont—Montreal on September 30, 1972. Although this train was popular with riders, Amtrak’s on-going budget problems led it to announce the April 30, 1995 discontinuance of the “Montrealer”, which would have once again ended Vermont passenger train service.

The overnight train was replaced by the daylight VERMONTER on May 1, 1995, after negotiations between Amtrak, the Vermont Congressional delegation, and the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VAOT). This train is subsidized by the state of Vermont, (and since 2015 also by Massachusetts and ), running from Washington D.C. and New York to St. Albans, VT. Efforts are underway to restore through “Vermonter” operations directly to Montreal.

Using a combination of Federal grants and funds from the operating New England Central Railroad (NECR), Vermont rebuilt the NECR mainline from St. Albans to the Massachusetts border. Subsequently Massachusetts rerouted its portion of the service from the Vermont border to Springfield, MA onto the more direct former B&M route via Greenfield, MA. South of White River Jct., portions of this track now permit 79 mph running—the fastest speeds ever on any Vermont rail route.

On December 30, 1996 the ETHAN ALLEN EXPRESS began running between New York City and Rutland, Vermont, subsidized by the state of Vermont (and since 2015 also by New York). This was the first passenger train service to Rutland since 1953. Subsequently the Vermont Agency of Transportation obtained Federal grants to fund track repairs north of Rutland, to allow this train to be extended over the former Rutland RR tracks now operated by the Vermont Rail System, directly to Burlington, VT, with service planned to begin in 2020.

Ridership on Vermont’s Amtrak trains has been strong and growing, recently increasing from 57,271 in FY 2005 to 107,688 in FY 2016. Since 1995 Vermont has investigated several other passenger rail service options.

In December 2000 Vermont instituted an experimental commuter service over 12 miles of the Vermont Rail System (VRS) between Charlotte and Burlington. The “” was funded primarily with $18,000,000 obtained from the Federal government to mitigate the of construction planned on the parallel US Highway 7. Preparation including track renovations for 59mph speeds, new gates at all major grade crossings, thus creating quiet zones, new/renovated stations and the purchase of 10 de-motored former Budd Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs) from the service.

The service was operationally reliable, averaging 325 riders per day. But this was far below projections. It lacked dedicated bus connections to major employment centers at the Burlington terminus, and was unable to proceed beyond Burlington over the 8 miles to the IBM plant in near-by Essex Junction because of 10mph track on the NECR Burlington-Essex branch. IBM was then the largest single private industry employer in Vermont. Worse the service started at a in the middle of a meadow on the outskirts of the tiny village of Charlotte, rather than at the much larger nearby towns of Vergennes or Middlebury, which were also not connected to it by any bus service.

These decisions reflected the reality of the maximum trackage that could be updated for the funding available, but belied the issue of what communities the train needed to serve to have any reasonable chance of success. The result was a termination of service on February 23, 2003, after barely two years of operation. Ironically work on the highway rebuilding plan was delayed until 2004, and thus never impacted patronage on the train during its brief history. Vermont had attained a further Federal grant to renovate the NECR branch from Burlington to Essex Junction, just as the train was terminated. Vermont had to return a substantial portion of the “Champlain Flyer” grants to the USDOT because of the early end of service.

The commuter rail experiment did have the positive result of starting the rebuilding of the VRS mainline from Burlington to Rutland, which will permit new passenger rail services over this line. Not only can the large college town of Middlebury be served, but the ETHAN ALLEN EXPRESS Amtrak service will eventually be extended from Rutland to Burlington. This extended route will offer service from northern Vermont to New York at least 90 minutes faster than the current service via Springfield, MA. There is substantial population along this corridor and there is a real opportunity to use this line as part of a Regional Intercity Rail network, in addition to the Amtrak train, as will be highlighted later in this report.

Vermont has worked with New York, New Hampshire, Quebec and the US/Canadian governments to restore VERMONTER service directly to Montreal. At present St. Albans is the furthest north point served by passenger trains within Vermont. A single Amtrak train through New York, the “”, does cross the border to Montreal, but this route offers no practical connections to Vermont. A treaty which will permit Customs and Immigration formalities for both countries to be conducted in Montreal Central Station has passed both the US Congress and the Canadian House of Commons. At present the “Adirondack” service is delayed for these inspections each day at the border for 90-120 minutes in each direction. Neither country is willing to process any added trains at the border. The new facility in Central Station will eliminate this inconvenience. Limited track repairs need to be done on the direct line between St. Albans and Montreal to allow the VERMONTER to reach a new terminus there. The state hopes to complete these projects in two to three years, so service might begin in 2019/2020.

Vermont has also considered alternative equipment options for its train services. In 2001-2003 Vermont applied to participate in an Amtrak demonstration study, which if implemented would have seen the state replacing the locomotive-hauled coaches on the “Vermonter” with newly-built self-propelled cars (DMUs). A Federal grant and state-issued bonds would have funded the experiment. Vermont envisioned running an added daily train between White River Junction and New Haven to connect to the regular Amtrak service. This would have allowed same-day business trips to New York. Sadly, delays in issuing the bonds and the bankruptcy of the DMU builder, Railcar, resulted in the project being dropped.

In 2016 the VAOT completed a study of starting a dedicated commuter rail service to Burlington from St. Albans and Montpelier. The proposed network did not consider running any trains through Burlington onto the VRS system to serve Shelburne, Vergennes and Middlebury, even though the work already completed on that line would have permitted service to be implanted there with virtually no added construction costs. The final report projected building a system modeled on the operations of the MBTA in the Boston area. Locomotive-hauled trains would be used, with very costly full train-length high-level platforms at every station. The NECR Burlington-Essex Junction branch would have been rebuilt to Class 4, 59mph standards.

The suggested costs, depending on the number of trains to be operated, ranged from $301-363,000,000, with annual subsidy costs of $3,782,00 to $6,507,000—again depending on the number of trains operated. The report did not contain any serious cost estimates for using new DMUs, nor did it consider renovated RDC cars at all. The report did not result in any funding being provided by the legislature.

This report never the less provides ideas useful to the design of a Regional Intercity Rail Service in Vermont which would basically provide service from at least as far south as Middlebury (and possibly Rutland) through Burlington, with trains dividing at Essex Junction to serve St. Albans to the north and Waterbury, Montpelier and Barre to the east. Using RDC cars this is highly practical. One of the benefits of the RDC design is that a train of two or more cars can be divided enroute to serve multiple destinations as distinct trains. There was a long history of this in New England with RDC services on the B&M, CV and CPR lines in the late 1950s and as late as the early 1960s. Outlined below are a variety of possible service scenarios using renovated RDC cars in Vermont to create a regional intercity rail network.

Regional Rail Service in the United States Multiple examples exist in the United States of regional rail service, in addition to the major city commuter trains there are other interesting examples of more regional trains serving more rural regions, in some cases around a hub city. Interesting examples include:

New Mexico New Mexico RAIL RUNNER Express Regional Rail: New Mexico launched a significant regional rail system combining both commuter and rural/regional characteristics, using 97 miles of line. Included is both existing trackage (acquired from the BNSF and Santa Fe Southern railroads) and 18 miles of entirely new line. The system serves the major population center of the state Albuquerque (population 556,495 in 2013) from the smaller regional centers of Santa Fe (69.976) and the small town of Belen (7239). RAIL RUNNER also serves Native American Pueblos (and casinos) enroute. Service is provided seven days per week. During weekday rush hours it is possible to go to/from either Albuquerque or Santa Fe at times convenient to typical work schedules. Additionally, mid-day trains are offered, facilitating shopper, sightseeing and tourist ridership. There are closely integrated bus connections at many stations.

Maine Expanded Maine Amtrak Service: Amtrak’s most successful new route in the northeast has been the DOWNEASTER, operating initially between Boston (population 645,966 in 2013) and Portland. ME (66,318). When the DOWNEASTER began in 1996 it restored a service the Boston and Maine Railroad had dropped 31 years before in 1965. In 2012 service was extended north of Portland to the outlet mecca of Freeport, ME (7,879) and the college town of Brunswick, ME (20,278). From the start the DOWNEASTER has been scheduled to provide both moderately long-distance commuter service from New Hampshire and Maine coastal pints to Boston and regional same-day round-trip options to all points on the line. While new Amtrak lines often begin with only a single daily train the DOWNEASTER has now grown to five daily round- trips. During the first year of expanded service ridership on the Brunswick extension reached 52,000, compared to projections of 36,000. For FY 2014 overall DOWNEASTER ridership was 536,524.

Oregon Oregon’s WESTSIDE EXPRESS and other Diesel-Multiple-Unit rail lines: Several self-propelled Diesel-Multiple- Unit (DMU) passenger lines have begun around the United States on tracks which also serve freight trains. They are a hybrid of heavy and technologies. Their equipment must meet the very demanding US crash-worthiness standards, or they cannot mix with freight trains at the same times. Yet they do not require locomotives, as extensively upgraded tracks, nor the elaborate stations needed for traditional commuter service.

WESTSIDE EXPRESS runs on 14.7 miles of the Portland and Western RR, between Beaverton and Wilsonville, OR. Instead of running directly into Portland, it connects at Beaverton to the electrified MAX Light Rail system for rides to the center city. Trains run every thirty minutes, but only during weekday rush hours. Crews are employees of the P&W freight railroad. Four DMUs from Colorado Railcar (CRC) make up the core fleet, with a reserve fleet of 1950s Budd Company-built Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs). These cars are identical to those now owned by AllEarth Rail in Vermont. Ridership averages 2100 per day, even though operations are only in rush hours.

Arizona and Rural New York RAILWAY/SARATOGA AND NORTH CREEK RAILWAY: An interesting trend in passenger railroads is the emergence of several “tourist” railroads as providers of point to point transportation, with connections to the national Amtrak network. Two examples are Arizona’s (GCR), and the upstate New York SARATOGA AND NORTH CREEK RAILWAY S&NC). Both serve important tourist destinations; respectively Grand Canyon National Park South Rim and the Adirondack Mountains/State Park. Each represents a restoration of passenger service (and infrequent freight traffic) over lines abandoned by the historic freight carriers many years before.

The GCR operates the 68-mile-long former Santa Fe Ry Grand Canyon Branch from Williams, AZ to Grand Canyon South Rim. Remarkable success followed. 204,000 passengers rode in 2006.This line is the living incarnation of the railroad/National Park heritage and mutually benefits Amtrak, the (by taking thousands of cars off park roads each year) and the tourism industry. It is well-used by bus tours as well.

The SARATOGA AND NORTH CREEK RAILWAY restored service on the 56-mile Saratoga Springs to North Creek, NY former and Hudson RR Adirondack Branch. In 2011 Iowa Pacific leased the line, restored track to allow 40mph passenger speeds and reinstated passenger service over the entire route. The S&NC trains share the Saratoga Springs Amtrak Station. Limited same-day connections exist, but most ridership is local. There are enroute stops at resorts and small towns. S&NC has worked well with the motor coach tour industry, but needs better lodge/resort connections for the “last miles” and more Amtrak direct linkage. Ridership reached 60,000 in 2012.

Rural Massachusetts BERKSHIRE SCENIC RAILROAD “Hoosick Valley” RDC Trains: In 2016 RDC car tourist passenger service, operated by the Berkshire Scenic Railroad Museum, began over the branch line between North Adams and Adams, Massachusetts, using RDC equipment identical to that owned by AllEarth Rail in Vermont. Passenger service runs weekends and holidays, with freight service provided by the Pan-American Southern Ry on weekdays. This service was very successful in its first season. In 2017 Massachusetts funded a one-mile track extension to restore service to the center of the village of Adams. While this line makes no connections to other passenger train services, it demonstrates the contemporary use of restored 1950s RDC cars on track active as part of the national freight rail network.