Most Vermont trains back in service after last week’s flooding washed out tracks

Updated July 16, 2024, 1:17 p.m.

Passenger and freight rail across central and northern Vermont was disrupted by last week’s flooding, but almost all lines were back in service Monday, according to the state Agency of Transportation.

Freight rail service between Montpelier and Barre began again Monday morning, while another stretch of freight rail in the Northeast Kingdom may take another week and a half to be operational again.

Last Wednesday and into Thursday morning, a broad swath of Vermont was bombarded with heavy rains as the remnants of Tropical Storm Beryl made their way through the state. Two deaths have been reported as connected to the ensuing flooding, as well as significant damage in many Vermont communities.

In an interview Monday, Vermont Rail System president Selden Houghton said that damage had not been as disruptive as last July, when the entire system was affected by historic flooding , and repairs took several weeks.

“It was not as significant and widespread as last year, but it was still significant in a concentrated area,” Houghton said.

Like many roads, rail lines in central and northern Vermont saw significant washouts, according to Dan Delabruere, the rail and aviation bureau director for the state transportation agency. Additionally, he told VTDigger, state-owned railways in Addison County, which service Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express train to Burlington, “received minor flood damage along the side of some of the banks.”

Amtrak public relations manager Jason Abrams reported that the Ethan Allen Express terminated at Saratoga Springs, missing all of its Vermont stops, last Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday, state transportation officials said Ethan Allen passengers were being bussed from Middlebury to Burlington. Train service was back in service by Saturday, Abrams said in an email.

Amtrak’s Vermonter line, which traverses the central part of the state, has been replaced by buses from New Haven, Connecticut, to St. Albans since last Thursday. Abrams said that this was a part of scheduled maintenance that has been underway in Massachusetts since April and will continue through October. The Vermonter service had not been disrupted by that work until last week. That disruption may last up to another week and a half, Transportation Secretary Joe Flynn said in a press conference Tuesday.

Across the state, several freight lines were significantly impacted by flood damage, Houghton said. Between Barre and Montpelier, the Washington County Railroad saw silt and debris on the tracks, and some minor washouts. Houghton said repairs began Thursday and the first train back ran Monday morning.

North of Barnet on the Connecticut River line, Houghton said damage has been more extensive and complicated to handle. Several washouts in the Lyndonville area have already been repaired, but there are washouts in Barnet that have continued to stall operations between there and St. Johnsbury, he said.

In Barnet, the damaged areas of the railway do not have access roads and can only be accessed by the rail itself, Houghton said. To repair that stretch, he said that Vermont Rail System had to first bring in specialized repair equipment, such as on-rail excavators. He estimated repairs on the Barnet damage would take another week and a half.

Delabruere also noted many culvert failures on the freight line between Barnet and Newport, but he wrote that “the railroad did not receive any damage from Barnet to White River [Junction] and that section of the line continues to operate.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story was incorrect about the length of the impact of railway maintenance in Massachusetts on Amtrak’s Vermonter service due to unclear information provided by the passenger service provider.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Most Vermont trains back in service after last week’s flooding washed out tracks .