Train service to Burlington, Vermont, will resume on July 29 for the first time since 1953, according to Amtrak and the Vermont Agency of Transportation.
Fares on the Ethan Allen Express between New York City and Burlington will start at $75 for the approximately 7.5-hour journey.
Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said in a statement that "very soon, we will be able to board a train in downtown Burlington and get in New York City in time for dinner."
"This long-awaited service will help jumpstart our economy at a crucial time, while also providing travellers with a new, lower-carbon connection to New York and the rest of the Amtrak system."
Ethan Allen Express expansion details
According to a news statement from the state transportation department, the new Ethan Allen Express route from New York City will include daily northbound service departing Penn Station at 2:21 p.m. and arriving in Burlington at 9:55 p.m.
Burlington to New York City service will depart at 10:10 a.m. and arrive at 5:45 p.m.
Amtrak's website does not currently have tickets available for purchase.
The line ends at Burlington Union Station, which has been rebuilt and modernised and is located on Main Street along Burlington's gorgeous Lake Champlain shore.
The station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is located in Burlington's Battery Street Historic District, allowing passengers to learn about the city's history.
The Rutland Railroad business used the station as a hub for the last time in 1953.
The Vermont Rail System runs passenger excursion trains from Union Station in Burlington, allowing travellers to prolong their train tour of Vermont.
Since 2019, Amtrak has been planning a new route and station extension.
It has necessitated some long-term rail, station, and platform building in Vermont cities such as Burlington, Middlebury, and Vergennes.
New stops will be added to the train at the Vergennes and Middlebury stations.
According to the Burlington mayor's statement, "local, state, and federal officials have been striving to re-establish this important transportation link for decades."
Amtrak service on the Ethan Allen Express had previously only extended as far as the Rutland, Vermont station, roughly 70 miles south of Burlington.
Amtrak currently provides service to Essex Junction (approximately 8 miles from downtown Burlington), but only on the local Vermonter train route, which takes about 9 hours to complete due to numerous stops along a route that winds through Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
In a high-cost summer, train travel is a good option.
During a summer when petrol prices are high, taking the train to northern Vermont will be a better option.
"Passenger rail travel provides gorgeous scenery, relaxation, and roomy and comfortable seating, and trains are nearly three times more energy efficient than automobiles," said Joe Flynn, Vermont's secretary of transportation.
The Ethan Allen Express travels through upstate New York, stopping in Saratoga Springs and Schenectady along the way.
The path offers beautiful views of the Hudson River Valley, which is a popular spot to visit during the summer.
During the fall, travellers will be able to relax and enjoy a beautiful leaf-peeping excursion on this route.
Amtrak believes that railroad leisure travel is making a comeback, with spokesperson Jason Abrams stating that "the love for train travel hasn't gone away" during the pandemic, and that more than 30% of passengers in recent months have been new passengers, potentially indicating an increase in overall train travel in the future.
According to Abrams, Amtrak had over 4,200 travellers aboard the Ethan Allen Express in May 2022, up from over 400 riders at the same time in 2019.
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