It is something that Brattleboro-area residents haven't been able to do in decades - take a train to New York City in the early morning, and be able to return the same day.
Now, a short drive to Greenfield, Mass., will again make such a trip possible, when the Valley Flyer is scheduled to start service on Aug. 30.
Valley Flyer is the name that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has given to a two-year pilot program that will begin to extend certain Amtrak trains north from Springfield, Mass., on the MassDOT-owned Greenfield-Springfield rail line.
It will give riders from the area rail-travel options that haven't been available since the original Montrealer/Ambassador passenger train was discontinued in 1966.
Working with the state of Connecticut and Amtrak, MassDOT says the Valley Flyer project would consist of two round-trip trains from Greenfield to New Haven, Conn., on weekdays and one round-trip train on Saturdays and Sundays.
The weekday morning Valley Flyer southbound trains would leave Greenfield at 5:45 and 7:35 a.m., respectively, and would arrive in Springfield at 6:53 and 8:43 a.m., and reach New Haven's Union Station at 8:27 and 10:18 a.m.
From there, the trains would connect with Amtrak's Northeast Corridor service to take riders to New York City, with an arrival times at Penn Station of 10:22 a.m. and 12:21 p.m.
That's several hours earlier than the current Amtrak Vermonter schedule from Brattleboro, which leaves at approximately 1 p.m. for a 6:25 p.m. arrival time in New York.
On weekends and holidays, the Valley Flyer would leave Greenfield at 9:15 a.m., arrive in New Haven at 11:57 a.m., and connect with Amtrak to arrive at Penn Station at 1:51 p.m.
Weekday northbound trains would leave Penn Station at 5:38 and 7:50 p.m. and arrive in New Haven at 7:20 and 9:41 to connect with the Valley Flyer. Arrival times in Greenfield are 10:23 p.m. and 12:38 a.m.
On weekends and holidays, the northbound train leaves New York at 3 p.m., connect in New Haven at 4:50 p.m., and reach Greenfield at 7:53 p.m.
The second train will run on weekends and holidays between Greenfield and Springfield. The southbound Valley Flyer leaves Greenfield at 8:10 p.m. and reaches Springfield at 9:18 p.m., while the northbound train leaves Springfield at 7:50 a.m. and arrives in Greenfield at 8:58 a.m.
Delayed start
The expanded service, which would also make stops in Northampton and Holyoke, Mass., had been scheduled to start in June, but MassDOT says delays in the construction of a new $8.2 million passenger platform at Springfield's Union Station delayed the start of the service.
Also contributing to the delay has been work on a new passenger platform at the Northampton station and the extension of an existing platform at the Greenfield station. Both projects, designed to improve accessibility to the rail cars, have been completed.
Repair work to the tracks between Greenfield and Springfield is also ongoing. According to MassDOT, up to 30,000 new wood crossties have been installed, 28,500 tons of track ballast has been distributed, five unmarked farm crossings have been eliminated, and new rail has been installed on sidings in Northampton and Springfield.
Amtrak ran some trains - minus the passengers - during overnight hours in mid-August to get its crews familiar with the route and to see if the train sets that will be used for the Valley Flier can be operated safely. The test runs ended on Aug. 19.
MassDOT projects that the Valley Flyer, which would be run by Amtrak at a cost of $1 million per year, will attract at least 24,000 new riders a year. If ridership meets or exceeds that level, MassDOT says it will seek an extended agreement with Amtrak and the state of Connecticut to continue the service.
Amtrak will be handling the ticketing for the Valley Flyer. The one-way fare between Greenfield and New Haven is $35.
No plans to expand service northward
When the first stirrings of what would become the Valley Flyer started a couple of years ago, rail users in Vermont started asking about whether the trains would go another 20 miles or so north to Brattleboro.
There is a strong argument for doing so based on current ridership for Amtrak's Vermonter.
According to the Rail Passengers Association, Brattleboro had 16,649 boardings in 2018, second only to Essex Junction (20,390) as the busiest rail station in Vermont.
Their data also shows that of the top city pairings by ridership and revenues on Amtrak's Vermonter, the Brattleboro–to–New York City route is the second most profitable as well as the second most popular. By comparison, the Greenfield stop for the Vermonter sees about 6,500 boardings per year.
Windham Regional Commission executive director Chris Campany said that extending the Valley Flyer service to Brattleboro “obviously would be desirable, and an idea we've pushed since the concept was first announced. It's my understanding that the nature of the funding and rules governing the pilot would preclude its extension beyond Massachusetts.”
Maureen Mullaney, transportation manager for the Greenfield-based Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG), said she shares Campany's desire to see the Valley Flyer come to Brattleboro and has spoken with Windham Regional about this.
“To be honest, it has been a heavy lift to even get the Massachusetts piece between Springfield and Greenfield moving, so we haven't thought too far beyond our pilot other than 'in an ideal world' type of way, ” she said. “No logistics have been tackled. It would be up to the Vermont Agency of Transportation, MassDOT, Amtrak, and possibly Connecticut DOT to decide on further expansion.”
In other words, said Mullaney, “that's a long-winded way of saying we would love a northern expansion, but there are no plans in the works at this time. First, we need to get our pilot launched and successful. Then we can argue for more.”
Campany said he agrees with that line of thinking. “I think the best hope of seeing a northern extension into Vermont is that the Springfield-to-Greenfield service expansion is a booming success,” he said.
That will depend on how many Brattleboro-area people travel to Greenfield to catch the earlier train.
Campany said that “a question we've put out there is whether those with marketing resources here in southeast Vermont should be promoting the pilot service between Springfield and Greenfield. This would not only include the chambers and downtown associations, but also private businesses.”
Greenfield recently opened a parking garage across from the Olver Transportation Center on Olive Street to accommodate long-term parking for the trains and buses that depart from that facility.
As for getting to Greenfield, Campany said private livery services, such as Uber and Lyft, or an informal ride sharing network, might fill the gap for those who cannot or choose not to drive.
The bigger question, Campany said, was how those taking the train to Greenfield from points south would get to Brattleboro.
Greyhound has only one daily late-morning bus going each way between Brattleboro and Greenfield, and it does not sync with the Valley Flyer's schedule.