Modern welded rail is practically silent, even if the locomotives still burn diesel.

I live maybe 200 yards from a commuter rail line in MA, hardly ever even hear it

Let's be honest, that proposal through Maine is juste a pipe dream. It might happen, but it's nowhere near a priority for any of the states it goes through.

However, this corridor might have more momentum then you think it has. Amtrak has already identified the Boston-Concord corridor as a potential corridor to invest in. Mass. is invested in expanding the MBTA and upgrade the lines all over the state. On the other side, New England states have made a top priority to extend the Vermonter to Montreal and double its frequency. Work is on the way for preclearance facilities at Montreal Central Station.

$100M isn't that much, really. If they manage to build enough ridership on each side of that gap, that would repay itselft really quickly. The only serious obtacle would be New Hampshire, which is notoriously opposed to passenger rail.

Worthy Kitchen in Quechee is a great option. Probably a bit less than halfway but food is great!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4582373-36-miles-of-trouble

the Whitcomb House wedding barn?

Ideally train lines would be replacing highways. Highways are terrible investments. Economically entirely unfeasible.

I heard there was once a rail line there. Not sure what's left of it, but seems like a good inclusion!

You leave out commuters up and down the west river valley between Manchester and Bratt. Plus no stop for Springfield.

Ok think the main thing to overcome here in terms of making such a plan viable is the private nature of most of Americas train lines. Private train lanes are never going to expand into rural vermont on their own, and the government giving them money to do it is a sure fire way to waste millions.

I could see this being viable through the public sector though. I have daydreamed about similar ideas for years; vermont is honestly just begging to have some good train lines to turn the state into a economic power punching far beyond its weight!

love from rail city Lmao ❤️

Oh Heaven forbid the train noise… I think any reasonable person would realize it’s worth it for the extreme economic gain of easy transport.

A little more than halfway would be the upper valley, which has plenty of dining options in Hanover and White River Jct. in Hanover you could try Murphy’s, Molly’s, Tacos Y Tequila (it’s not a bar scene per se) , Tuk Tuk Thai, and many more.

Wish we had an EU-type agreement with Canada! Ah well...

Track upgrades have been completed between St. Albans and the Canadian border. It is now up to both governments on how to handle the border crossing. Within the last few years it was decided to have a port of entry in Montreal without having to stop at the border.

colors

I've been in that one. It's a very cool building... with very low doors.

Village Pizza, bay-bee!

The Vermonter used to be called the Montrealer. The line is still there, and yet it still ends in St Albans after 2 decades. Why is it taking so long to reopen the last short leg to Montreal? This would greatly increase the ridership on the Vermonter, which is now basically empty once it exits Burlington.

Needless to note that the creator of this racist meme, Jack Posobiec, really truly believes that Democratic leadership is abusing and trafficking children in the basement of Cosmic Pizza.

The issue is when they try to push the envelope. Get a 12-13 seer unit and all is good but if you get one of these magic 23 seer units that will work in New England down to 10 degrees and every motor is variable speed this is what you end up with.

🤣

Well, yeah...it's been there a while. I was hoping you'd been to a planning meeting and heard something a little recent/hopeful.

I'm old enough to remember when it last existed, was actually planning my first trip when it stopped, so I'm cynical :(

That’s what we did. 😅

As a NYer who lived my entire childhood in the VT speed trap, it’s not worth it to even go slightly over. They are waiting specifically for you haha

You're right, and it makes sense why it's like that. It just sucks.

> Still not much of a day trip if you get in at 5pm.

Actually, 5 pm arrival in Burlington would be perfect for a weekend with friends. Like, if I had a magic wand of when arrivals got into Burlington, I'd choose 5 pm.

100% lmao.

I now have a radar detector since I do a ton of out of state highway driving (34k miles on my car that I bought new in February).