The link to this local news article was posted on several other rail forums yesterday, but I don't see the news here, so here goes. The gist of the story is that the state of Vermont is committed to extending the Ethan Allen northward to Burlington by 2017, regardless of whether they can get federal funding for the rest of the track and bridge upgrades that are needed. I think the writer of the article was not aware of the prospects of $20 million in federal funding from the Senator Jefford's earmark which has been on the books for some years. With $6 million allocated in the state budget, Vermont may have a large percentage in place for the estimated $35 to $45 million cost to upgrade the 68 miles of tracks and the right of way.
I would venture that Middlebury College would be willing to contribute funds for a Middlebury train station, because a train service to Albany, NYC, and the NEC would be a huge boon to the college.
Excerpts from the article:
I would venture that Middlebury College would be willing to contribute funds for a Middlebury train station, because a train service to Albany, NYC, and the NEC would be a huge boon to the college.
Excerpts from the article:
MIDDLEBURY — Vermont will proceed with sufficient rail improvements to re-establish passenger train traffic along its western corridor from Rutland through Middlebury to Burlington by 2017, and the state will proceed on that track regardless of the prospects for federal funding.
That was the message on Tuesday from Chris Cole, the Policy, Planning and Intermodal Development director for the Vermont Agency of Transportation, known as VTrans.
...
The cost of upgrading the rail line from Rutland to Burlington has been placed at $35 million to $45 million, according to Cole, an amount he said will probably “have to be knocked off in chunks.”
“We will keep plugging away at it,” Cole said, acknowledging the uncertainty of federal funding. “A lot of the projects we do are state-funded projects only.”
...
He outlined specific goals in Shumlin’s energy plan that call for quadrupling the number of Vermont-based passenger rail trips to 400,000 by 2030