Passenger Trains > Vermont Amtrak news

https://www.vermontbiz.com/news/2020/august/13/no-date-yet-amtraks-return

I apologize that the referenced article is now a month old however I believe the content of it remains as though it was written today. I also think that those familiar with the state will find nothing at all surprising and represents what we've been thinking all along. While there is certainly respect to be shown for the desire to control the spread of COVID, on the other hand the fact that people can drive or fly here means that people can still enter the state from anywhere else in the country.  I haven't heard negative reports over the restoration of the Downeaster going into Maine.
 

It has been a huge absence of not having Amtrak service in Vermont during this pandemic. I doubt that the service cancellations for the Vermonter north of New Haven, Ct will be permanent. Sadly, right now, people are reluctant to travel.

Passfanatic Wrote:
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> It has been a huge absence of not having Amtrak
> service in Vermont during this pandemic. I doubt
> that the service cancellations for the Vermonter
> north of New Haven, Ct will be permanent. Sadly,
> right now, people are reluctant to travel.

People aren't reluctant to travel. I've travelled and there have been tons of people on the road and on the trains. Its more like attractions people want to go to are reluctant to host them, or the government has shut them down.

As mentioned by previous poster finding open travel destinations has been difficult during the 2020 summer travel season.  I was surprised to note the Mid-Continent Museum in North Freedom, Wisconsin, was closed this summer.  (Their post- We are closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.)  The pandemic has greatly restricted summer vacation plans.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/20 18:04 by cozephyr.

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The Interstates have not closed; the airports have not closed; they can run Amtrak if they so desired, even just weekends when travel is likely busier. It is not a Canadian border issue either. Vermont is not as "green" minded as they would like us to believe. They are currently behaving like Sununu's New Hampshire, Covid being a convenient excuse. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/14/20 04:31 by joemvcnj.

If you want to know what Vermont's conditions/restrictions for travellers really are, go here: 

https://accd.vermont.gov/covid-19/restart/cross-state-travel

I spent a week in Springfield, Mass from 9/5-9/12. I wished the Vermonter was running north of New Haven because if it was, I would have taken it northbound.

Latest updates on Vermont's AMTRAK service: Governor Scott extended Vermont's COVID-19 emergency order through midnight October 15th, and the VT Health folks have recently been ADDING counties in states along the east coast to ,the list of places out of state visitors MUST quarantine for specified amounts of time.  AMTRAK says it will take 30 days to get service back up and running once VT notifies it  to resume train operations.  If Scott doesn't extend the current state of emergency beyond Oct. 15th (and indications are that he will if virus conditions don't improve significantly outside of Vermont), the earliest service will resume is mid-November.  On the positive side, the Vermont Rail Council (an advisory group to the Governor) recently held its first meeting since last December, and VTAOT's head honcho Joe Flynn said Vermont is committed to resuming AMTRAK service " when it is safe to do so".  Flynn also gave an update  on work that is still progressing toward new AMTRAK Eathan Allen service planned between Rutland and Burlington.  Finally, in a rather lengthy TV interview in August, Christopher Parker (Executive Director of the Vermont Rail Action Network) stated that Vermont is obligated contractually to resume service or face having to return millions of dollars to the Federal government; Vermont agreed to run the VERMONTER for a period of 20 years when it received Federal funds to assist in the rebuilding of the New England Central RR, and VT is now only about half way through that time frame.  Whether one likes Governor Scott or not, he IS doing what he thinks is best for the citizens of Vermont--and thus far it seems to be working as VT has the lowest COVID-19 rate per capita in the Untied States.            Frederick G. Bailey



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/20 01:47 by steam1246.

Those simply are not valid excuses. 

NY/NJ/CT have a pact, updated every Tuesday, of hotlist states and territories. NY has not suspended the Empire Corridor, from which it interchanges NEC passengers, nor has CT stopped running all their state-sponsored trains.

VT has not road-blocked the Interstates nor shut their airports.