Amtrak's Ethan Allen Express is coming through against all odds

Amtrak's Ethan Allen Express is coming through against all odds
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#EthanAllenExpress #amtrak #greattrainspeed #vermont #burlington
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0:00 Intro
0:28 The success of Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express
3:03 Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express: Challenges
5:09 Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express: The Future
6:56 The Progress to bring back Amtrak to Burlington
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Amtrak's Ethan Allen Express is coming through against all odds
Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express has transformed rail travel in Vermont, defying the odds to bring record-breaking ridership to Burlington. After overcoming budget cuts, crashes, and a global pandemic, the train now serves as a vital link between New York City and Vermont’s largest city, offering a scenic and reliable journey through the Green Mountains. Let’s explore how the Ethan Allen Express made it here—and what’s next for this rail revival in the Queen City.
Amtrak's Ethan Allen Express is coming through against all odds
Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express achieved a remarkable feat with its extension to Burlington, a move that pushed ridership to unprecedented heights, soaring to 86,638 passengers in FY23 according to Amtrak’s latest figures—a stunning 71% jump from the 50,515 riders in FY19. Even more striking, preliminary data from the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) for FY24 shows the train carried 25,033 passengers through January alone, outpacing the prior year by 4,000 and shattering expectations for a route once teetering on the edge of obscurity. This surge marks a dramatic leap from pre-extension years and signals a robust recovery, surpassing even the most hopeful pre-pandemic projections.
Amtrak's Ethan Allen Express is coming through against all odds
The Burlington extension, launched on July 29, 2022, after a $66 million investment, brought the Ethan Allen Express to Vermont’s largest city for the first time in nearly seven decades, adding stops in Middlebury and Vergennes along its 310-mile journey from New York City. This milestone has not only broken ridership records but also solidified the train’s role as a critical link in the Northeast, with operating costs increasingly justified by its growing popularity.