BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – State officials say years of work and millions spent on construction to bring Amtrak to Burlington are paying off, with ridership outpacing expectations.
The Ethan Allen Express leaves from the Burlington station every day at 9:50 a.m. for the seven-and-a-half hour train ride to New York City. And it’s becoming a popular way to go to the Big Apple.
The Amtrak’s horn sounds on the Burlington waterfront as the train picks up around 30 passengers.
“Now with the weather iffy, every day is different. Just much more comfortable to be on the train,” said Norm Potoksky of Colchester.
Passengers say it beats the nearly six-hour drive from the Queen City.
“It’s so quick just to walk down here and then you get to sit on a train, play some video games, take a nap, and it’s so much easier,” said Orion Roberts of Burlington.
State officials say ridership is outpacing demand. Data from Amtrak shows a 4,000-person increase in riders between fiscal years 2023 and 2024, with 21,150 in 2023 and 25,033 in 2024.
“There was a demand, obviously Vermont taxpayers and ridership around Chittenden County, they were asking for this. And all the work and investment that we’ve put into it, all our partners, is paying off,” said Dan Delabruere, the director of rail and aviation for the Vermont Agency of Transportation.
VTrans helped bring the train back to Burlington for the first time in nearly 70 years.
Part of the project helped redevelop the main train hub, Union Station, where you catch the train.
But some passengers tell us buying a ticket online can be confusing. The drop-down menu includes two options to get to NYC. The first is at the Burlington Transit Center which will get you a bus ticket to Albany to catch the train there.
“If you only want to ride the train, you have to go to Union Station because the train comes to Union Station and the bus goes to the transit center, two different locations. To buy an Amtrak ticket out of the city of Burlington,” Delabruere said.
Riders say it’s important to double-check the station you’re selecting.
“Definitely check out, you know, the options that are listed in the stations that are around you and make sure the one that you really want to go to,” Roberts said.
