The ''Champlain Flyer'' was a

commuter train Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are consi ...

service in

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

that ran from 2000 to 2003 between

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

South Burlington South Burlington is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Along with neighboring Burlington, it is a principal city of the Burlington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 20,292. It is home to the head ...

, Shelburne, and

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, in the eastern

Champlain Valley The Champlain Valley is a region of the United States around Lake Champlain in Vermont and New York extending north slightly into Quebec, Canada. It is part of the St. Lawrence River drainage basin, drained northward by the Richelieu River into ...

. The

Vermont Railway The Vermont Railway is a shortline railroad in Vermont and eastern New York, operating much of the former Rutland Railway. It is the main part of the Vermont Rail System, which also owns the Green Mountain Railroad, the Rutland's branch to Be ...

operated the route along the former

main line Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to: Transportation Railway * Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system * Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...

of the

Rutland Railroad The Rutland Railroad was a railroad in the northeastern United States, located primarily in the state of Vermont but extending into the state of New York at both its northernmost and southernmost ends. After its closure in 1961, parts of the ...

History

The ''Champlain Flyer'' was conceived as an alternate transportation option during the reconstruction of

U.S. Route 7 U.S. Route 7 (US 7) is a north–south United States highway in western New England that runs for through the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. The highway's southern terminus is at Interstate 95 (I-95) exit 15 ...

. It benefited from public funds earmarked for public transportation. The train began operation on December 4, 2000, with two daily round-trips, with plans to operate as many as ten. Startup costs were $18 million ($ in adjusted for inflation), most of which were provided by the federal government for improving the tracks and grade crossings along the route. At the time of its inception, it was the shortest commuter rail system in the United States. Initial ridership figures were lower than expected as the highway reconstruction project was delayed. In 2002, it was threatened to be cut from the state budget. The newly elected Gov.

Jim Douglas James Holley Douglas (born June 21, 1951) is an American politician from the state of Vermont. A Republican, he served the 80th governor of Vermont from 2003 to 2011. On August 27, 2009, Douglas announced that he would not seek re-election for ...

(who succeeded Gov.

Howard Dean Howard Brush Dean III (born November 17, 1948) is an American physician, author, lobbyist, and retired politician who served as the 79th governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 and chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2005 to 200 ...

of Shelburne) decided that the train was not viable, and the last train ran on February 28, 2003, despite all contracts being pre-paid through the end of the year.

Later service

The

has periodically operated an

excursion train An excursion train is a chartered train run for a special event or purpose. Examples are trains to major sporting event, trains run for railfans or tourists, and special trains operated by the railway company for employees and prominent customer ...

service from Burlington to Charlotte and back known as the ''Champlain Valley Flyer''. Regular passenger service returned to

Burlington Union Station Burlington Union Station is a train station and office building located in downtown Burlington, Vermont. It is the northern terminal of the Amtrak ''Ethan Allen Express'' service. The symmetrical Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux Arts building, buil ...

in July 2022, when

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

extended the ''

Ethan Allen Express The ''Ethan Allen Express'' is a daily passenger train operated by Amtrak in the United States between New York City and Burlington, Vermont, via Albany, New York. One daily round trip is operated on a north-south route with a 7 hour 35 min ...

'' north from

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

. The train uses the former route of the ''Champlain Flyer'', but does not serve any of its former stations except Burlington. The

Vermont Agency of Transportation The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) is a government agency of the state of Vermont that is responsible for planning, constructing, and maintaining a variety of transportation infrastructure in the state. This includes roads, bridges, sta ...

has raised the possibility of adding an

infill stop An infill station (sometimes in-fill station) is a train station built on an existing passenger rail, rapid transit, or light rail line to address demand in a location between existing stations. Such stations take advantage of existing train servi ...

in Shelburne, where the ''Champlain Flyer'' platform still exists.

Operations

The service's rolling stock consisted of a rebuilt

GP38-2 The EMD GP38-2 is an American four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors, Electro-Motive Division. Part of the EMD Dash 2 line, the GP38-2 was an upgraded version of the earlier GP38. Power is provided by an EMD 645E 16-cyl ...

and ten ex-

Virginia Railway Express Virginia Railway Express (VRE) is a commuter rail service that connects outlying small cities of Northern Virginia to Union Station in Washington, D.C. It operates two lines which run during weekday rush hour only: the Fredericksburg Line from ...

de-motored RDC cars. Two of these cars were outfitted with cab control. Fares were $1 for a one-way trip, collected on the honor system by being deposited in a box upon entering the train.

References

External links

Pictures of the ''Champlain Flyer''
{{VermontTransSystems Passenger rail transportation in Vermont Former United States regional rail systems Railway services introduced in 2000 Railway services discontinued in 2003