Rail service, if it really does come, will transform the economy of Burlington, and Vermont
Main Street Landing
Sitting in my office on the third floor of Union Station, looking out over the waterfront and the empty train tracks running in front of the building, I can’t help but remember when 200 people sang “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” as the Champlain Flyer chugged into Burlington. I often reminisce about Twentieth Century Fox filming “Me Myself and Irene” with Jim Carrey and Renee Zellweger in Union Station, and my tears of joy as Amtrak pulled into the station and sat there for three days as the back drop to Carrey’s hysterical antics.
Let’s face it, Burlington deserves passenger train service. Wouldn’t we all benefit from being able to leave our cars at home and travel in the comfort and freedom of rail? I believe most people love trains and will ride them. So why is it that I’m still waiting for the train?
Look at the rich history of rail in Burlington. It was in 1850 that the Rutland Railroad established a straight rail route north to Burlington, known as the Western Corridor — this was 160 years ago. Burlington grew up and around rail, and it was rail that helped define Burlington as the destination for folks coming to Vermont.
The last passenger train (except for the short-lived Champlain Flyer) stopped running in 1950 (the year I was born) and the train station was sold to Green Mountain Power. In 1985, Main Street Landing purchased the station and turned it into an artist community. Then, in 1997, 10,000 square feet was added to the 1916 building to create what we see today, the Main Street Landing Train Station.
We have the station, yet for over 60 years, Burlington has not had sustained passenger rail service coming into that station. So, let’ s look at the economic and social benefits of rail. According to a study this year by the Victoria Transport Policy Institute, rail transit provides a positive return on investment. Direct transportation cost savings average about $450 annually per capita, and it increases regional Advertisement employment, business activity and productivity. The rail can contribute to urban redevelopment, and property values increase near rail stations. Quality transit improves mobility for nondrivers, improves community livability, and improves public health.
The Vermont Rail Action Network has analyzed the environmental benefits of rail and concludes: “44% of greenhouse gasses in Vermont are produced by transportation (nationally, it’s 28%). Shipping by rail instead of truck reduces pollution (on average) by two-thirds, noise by one half, and uses only 29% of the fuel, and produces only 23% as much greenhouse gasses. The U S. transportation system is 96% petroleum dependent, accounts for 71% of the country’s oil use, and consumes 25% of the world’s net output. Passenger trains are 20 to 40% more efficient. Passenger service means improved rail infrastructure which will help accommodate better freight service to and from Vermont. A fifty-car train takes 300 semi-trucks off our highways, and many of Vermont’s businesses have large bulk commodity needs not being met right now by rail.”
Again, we must ask ourselves, if rail can help our economy, support the social fabric of our communities, and benefit our environment — what’s the hold up here? I believe it’s political will and lack of leadership. And, of course, our love affair with our automobile. But things are going to change in a big way as people rise up and demand alternatives to roadway travel. Why? Because the dollar drives human desire and ultimately the marketplace. Economic, fast, efficient and comfortable rail travel will become a welcomed alternative for many in the coming years ahead.
Since Peter Shumlin has become governor, an exciting can-do attitude for rail radiates from the Statehouse. Under the leadership of the Agency of Transportation Secretary, Brian Searles (also the AOT Secretary for Howard Dean), Amtrak is expected to pull into Union Station within three years. Conversations are under way with Canada to continue Amtrak from Burlington to Montreal by solving the customs delay. We will see a six-hour train ride from Burlington to New York. One thousand people a day could be arriving at the Queen City looking for hotel rooms, restaurants, shops and cultural amenities.
Just imagine the economic jolt to Vermont’ s economy when ski trains, tourist trains, scenic autumn trains, vacation trains, commuter trains and interstate trains connecting Washington, New York and Advertisement Burlington to Montreal, start rolling into town. Just imagine it, and keep that little tune in the back of your mind … “Don’t you hear the whistle blowing?Rise up so early in the morn.Don’t you hear the captain shouting“Dinah, blow your horn?”