[KoZmiC NinJa]

Originally Posted by MRVphotog

The Vermonter takes way too long to be practical. The Ethan Allan which goes from DC to NYC to Rutland is much faster as it only has a few stops.

I have used this train extensively. Like Rutland, Im
glad I wont again. It was never less than an hour late.
Sometimes two. We would goof and say it was only "10
minutes late" if it was 70 minutes over.
It takes a full 8 hours to get to Philly. Overall, between
the customer service of AMTRAK and the price of the
tickets , Im surprised this train still runs.

[PortieOwner]

To go to NYC, has anyone tried driving down to CT and parking at a commuter rail station and taking that the rest of the way into the city?? People commonly do this travelling from DC to NYC--park at a NJ commuter rail station so distance from NYC.

[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by PortieOwner

To go to NYC, has anyone tried driving down to CT and parking at a commuter rail station and taking that the rest of the way into the city?? People commonly do this travelling from DC to NYC--park at a NJ commuter rail station so distance from NYC.

I've driven south & left my car at a NY or CT train station a few times. I'd still rather walk to the Rutland train station, get on the train, listen to an entire unabridged audio book on my iPod, see the sights, chat with the folks, and disembark at Penn Station. It's long and gets tedious near the end (in either direction), but overall appeals to me more than other options.

Driving south and taking the train into the city doesn't save me much time. It just breaks up the journey with trains and automobiles instead of just train-train-train-train . . .

[bmoreorbust]

I heard that the reason the Vermonter is so unreliable is that it runs primarily on freight track north of CT. Because this track is owned by the freight companies (CTX, etc.), Amtrak must work around their needs. I don't know if its true, but it would explain a lot. I am actually on the Vermonter as I write this, and we're only running about a 1/2 hr late!!!

[MTK1]

I took the Vermonter when I just recently moved back to CT from Burlington. It saved me alot of money by avoiding my girlfriend following me down in a moving truck and driving back up to get my car. I paid $42 with a AAA discount from New Haven, CT to Burlington. It was over an hour late and the ride is long but with todays gas prices I thought it was quite cheap. They do have power outlets so you can bring a laptop, dvd player, etc. The ride from Springfield north is actually quite scenic as well.

My friend is a conductor for Amtrak in CT and says they call the Vermonter the "Vermonster". The tracks north of Palmer Mass are owned by The New England Central Railroad and are in really poor shape. This is mainly due to the terrain and weather and miles of track were recently washed out this past spring he told me. There are severe speed restrictions on the entire stretch. The Northbound and Southbound Amtraks are scheduled around 2 N/S freight trains and that is the main cause of the delays. The conductor told me we were going to sit in Springfield for an hour while we waited for a southbound frieght on my recent trip. I will also add I took the same route 2 years ago and the train I recently took had double the cars on it. I believe too the Vermonter is paid for by the state of VT.

[alonrev1]

My last ride from Hartford to Bellows falls, I got off in Brattleboro after being on the train for 6 hours, I walked to the entrance of 91 and hitched the ride to bellows.

Horrible..Give the government something to run .. perfect example is off track betting in NY. A bookie can make a fortune doing it. The government just has to take money and punch tickets ... and they go bankrupt!!!

[nhrocky]

Originally Posted by bmoreorbust

I heard that the reason the Vermonter is so unreliable is that it runs primarily on freight track north of CT. Because this track is owned by the freight companies (CTX, etc.), Amtrak must work around their needs. I don't know if its true, but it would explain a lot. I am actually on the Vermonter as I write this, and we're only running about a 1/2 hr late!!!

Living in NH right across the CT River, I get to see Amtrak every day. That train is always blasting thru' coming to and from Brattleboro, it's definitely not going slow along our section of the track. It does have to share the track with freight trains.