Ethan Allen Express

Route The Ethan Allen Express operates approximately north–south between New York Penn Station and Burlington, save for an approximately east–west section between Whitehall, New York, and Rutland, Vermont. All of the route south of Whitehall is also used by the Adirondack. The stretch between Schenectady and New York City is also used by Empire Service, Lake Shore Limited, and Maple Leaf trains; the Ethan Allen Express acts as an additional Empire Service trip on this portion. Trains operate with two GE P32AC-DM dual-mode locomotives, one at each end, which operate on third rail electric power in Penn Station and the Empire Connection tunnel and on diesel power for the rest of the route. In the late 2020s and early 2030s, all equipment will be replaced with Amtrak Airo trainsets, the railroad's branding of its combination of Siemens Venture passenger cars and a Siemens Charger diesel-electric locomotive. The trainsets for the Ethan Allen Express will have six passenger cars, which will include a cab control car food service area and a mix of 2x2 coach and 2x1 business class seating. The car closest to the locomotive will have batteries to supply electricity to traction motors in the locomotive when operating in Penn Station and the Empire Connection tunnel, eliminating the need for third rail propulsion. Ridership and funding Ridership in Fiscal Year 20 was . The train is subsidized by New York and Vermont for the portion north of Albany, in proportion to mileage on that section in each state. In FY 2019, the Vermont portion of the subsidy (44%) was $1.57 million, while the New York portion was about $2 million. The route is supplemented by two daily bus round trips operated by Vermont Translines between Albany and Burlington which act as Amtrak Thruway connections to Empire Corridor trains at Albany–Rensselaer. These bus routes also provide Amtrak connections for several Vermont towns presently without direct Amtrak service, such as Bennington and Manchester. == History ==

Planning and service start Prior passenger service between Rutland and points south was operated by the Delaware and Hudson Railroad over the Whitehall Branch (Rutland–Whitehall) and Washington Branch (–Eagle Bridge) and by the Rutland Railroad over its mainline (–Rutland–) and Chatham Branch (Rutland–Chatham). Washington Branch and Whitehall Branch passenger service ended on June 24, 1934. The Rutland Railroad continued to operate passenger service to Rutland, including the New York City–Montreal Green Mountain Flyer and Mount Royal, until 1953. Politicians including Curtis McCormack unsuccessfully attempted to obtain funding for Amtrak service to Rutland in the 1980s. Then-governor Howard Dean created the Vermont Rail Council headed by McCormack in 1991, with instruction to study Rutland service, but most attention was focused on the Montrealer. In late 1994, Amtrak announced that the Montrealer would be discontinued due to budget cuts. While state officials worked to retain that service, adding a route to Rutland (and possibly Burlington) was also supported by Dean. Later that month, $3.5 million was included in a federal funding bill. Along with $1 million from the Vermont Railway and $743,000 from the state, this funded $5.24 million in trackwork, which upgraded of the Whitehall Branch from to maximum speed. The state originally planned to call the new service the Green Mountain Flyer after the former Rutland Railroad train. However, the Green Mountain Railroad objected, as they already used that name for a tourist train. On August 15, 1996, the state announced it would be called the Ethan Allen Express after Vermont cofounder and American Revolutionary War patriot Ethan Allen. The state agreed to a $200,000 annual subsidy, which reflected the cost of extending one Empire Service round trip from Albany to Rutland. The Ethan Allen Express began with stops in , , , , , , , , , and New York City. Because the Adirondack already served the section between New York City and Whitehall, the Ethan Allen Express only added and one station (Rutland) to the Amtrak system. A trailer was used as a temporary station at Rutland; the station building, funded by $700,000 from the federal government, did not open until 1999. Early service changes The Ethan Allen Express was intended to support tourism in the Rutland areas, particularly winter travel to Killington Ski Resort and Pico Mountain. In October 1997, the southbound Saturday departure moved to the same afternoon time as weekdays, while the Friday and Sunday northbound departures moved to the late-afternoon time. On February 15, 1998, Amtrak added a morning northbound train from Albany to Rutland, providing a connection from the northbound Maple Leaf; this gave a second northbound trip to Rutland, though still only one southbound trip. The change reduced the state subsidy by eliminating the need for overnight crew accommodations: the morning northbound trip turned around to become the afternoon southbound trip, while the afternoon northbound trip deadheaded from Rutland to Albany in the late evening for servicing. In October 1998, the Sunday southbound departure was shifted two hours later to allow more time for skiers, while the Saturday southbound departure was moved up to match weekdays. From August 16 to October 31, 1999, the Vermont Railway operated the Ethan Allen Connection between Rutland and Burlington with an intermediate stop at Middlebury. It was discontinued due to low ridership; most passengers only rode between Rutland and Burlington, with just 20–25% connecting to the Ethan Allen Express. On October 31, northbound service was reconfigured. A daily train departed New York at 6:15 am – an hour earlier than the Maple Leaf. The afternoon northbound train continued to run Monday–Thursday; the Saturday northbound shifted to that time, while the Sunday afternoon northbound was canceled. The Friday northbound trip became an express operating nonstop between New York and Schenectady, with a hour schedule – the fastest time ever scheduled for the Ethan Allen Express. A baggage car was added to the train for bikes and ski equipment in late 1998, but it could not be used for luggage until February 2000 when an attendant was hired for Rutland station. The baggage car was removed in 2002 due to low usage, elimination of station agents due to state budget cuts, and the older baggage cars not being certified for as high speeds as the rest of the train. The schedule was simplified on April 29, 2001: daily afternoon trips in both direction, plus a morning Albany–Rutland northbound trip with no New York connection. The morning trip became a New York–Rutland trip on July 9, while the Sunday trip was again moved to later in the afternoon. The morning trip was cut back to an Albany–Rutland shuttle in January 2002 and discontinued entirely that April. In April 2003, the Friday northbound trip was moved later in the evening, while weekday southbound trips were moved to a 7:15 am departure. Monday and Saturday southbound departures were moved to 10:45 am in November 2004. The Monday southbound trip was moved back to match the other weekdays in October 2007. Further changes In October 2008, the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) proposed eliminating the Ethan Allen Express and replacing it with a bus, citing budgetary restrictions. The proposal was rejected by a legislative committee. VTrans again proposed ending service in January 2009. Opposition from the Vermont Rail Action Network and local political leaders resulted in the service being kept. On January 2, 2010, the Ethan Allen Express began stopping at Castleton. Service to Fair Haven ended on January 9. Beginning in the mid-2000s, poor track conditions between Whitehall and Rutland also affected the train's performance. In February 2011, VTrans began an investigation into the Vermont Rail System's handling of the Ethan Allen Express after Amtrak ranked VRS as the worst host railroad in the country. Vermont Rail Systems began track work in April 2011, which reduced travel times by 10 minutes by that October. The project, funded by both the railroad and the state of New York at a cost of $3.25 million, involved rebuilding about of track and eight grade crossings. By February 2012, additional trackwork had resulted in a 15-minute southbound and 25-minute northbound reduction in travel time between Rutland and Whitehall. The Friday northbound trip operated on the same mid-afternoon schedule from July 10 to September 5, 2017, during track work at New York Penn Station. From May 26 to September 3, 2018, the Ethan Allen Express and other Empire Corridor trains were diverted to Grand Central Terminal during further Penn Station track work. On March 26, 2020, the Ethan Allen Express was suspended north of Albany–Rensselaer at the request of Vermont Governor Phil Scott due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Service to Rutland resumed on July 19, 2021, with $1 promotional fares on that date for travel within Vermont. Extension to Burlington Even before service began, state planners intended to later extend the Ethan Allen Express from Rutland to Burlington. In 2005, Senator Jim Jeffords obtained a $30 million earmark for upgrades to the Rutland–Burlington rail corridor in preparation for a possible Ethan Allen Express extension. Jeffords had long championed passenger rail in western Vermont, which does not have an interstate highway. His original goal was New York–Burlington service via Bennington. The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) applied three times for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds to rebuild the tracks between Rutland and Burlington; none of the applications were successful. The former New Haven Junction station building was relocated, as it was too close to the tracks. A separately-funded project constructed a rail tunnel in downtown Middlebury to replace aging bridges and increase clearances for freight use. VTrans originally planned for trains to lay over overnight at Union Station, but nearby residents objected to having the locomotive idle there. In March 2020, VTrans indicated that the Vermont Railway yard to the south would instead be modified to accommodate the train. The two new stations and the new Burlington platform were built in 2020–2022. In October 2021, Amtrak and Vermont Rail System began running qualification trips between Rutland and Burlington to familiarize train crews with the new route. Revenue service to Burlington began on July 29, 2022, with trains departing early afternoon northbound and late morning southbound all days. It was the first direct passenger rail service to Burlington in 69 years. The extension caused an immediate increase in ridership, with August 2022 ridership about 50% higher than August 2019. Ridership in Fiscal Year 2023 – the first full fiscal year of Burlington service – was 86,638, exceeding the pre-pandemic FY 2019 figure of 50,515. Future VTrans listed several possible improvements to the Ethan Allen Express in the 2021 Vermont Rail Plan. These included potential infill flag stops in Brandon and Shelburne. Positive train control and track upgrades would allow the Ethan Allen Express to reach speeds of , up from , on sections between Whitehall and Burlington. This would save about 15 minutes per trip, with an estimated increase of 1,400 to 2,600 annual riders by 2040. The 2021 Vermont Rail Plan indicated that should it be implemented, this second service would also extend to Burlington. In December 2023, the Federal Railroad Administration accepted an application by VTrans to enter the New York–Albany–Mechanicville–Bennington–Rutland–Burlington route into its Corridor Identification and Development Program. The program grants $500,000 toward service planning and prioritizes the route for future federal funding. The application referred to the route as the Green Mountain Corridor. == Station stops ==