Vermont Rail System outlines upgrades, freight growth opportunities and partnership with VTrans

Vermont Rail System officials told the House Transportation Committee on Jan. 31 that the company operates roughly 450 miles of track in the region, handles about 25,000 freight carloads a year and is pursuing grant‑funded upgrades to accommodate modern 286,000‑pound railcars on more lines.

“Basically, Vermont Rail System … we operate about 450 miles of railroad,” Salim Hohin, president of Vermont Rail System, told the committee. He summarized the system’s lines, recent acquisitions and the company’s role hosting Amtrak’s Ethan Allen service. “We handle about 25,000 carloads of freight a year,” Hohin said, and noted the company employs about 160 people, most of whom are Vermonters.

Hohin and other company representatives described a close working relationship with the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) and federal grant programs that fund capital projects on state‑owned rail infrastructure. They said a recently completed project between Rutland and Hoosick Junction restored several bridges and raised capacity to the 286,000‑pound standard on that segment; Hohin said about half the state’s lines are now 286k‑capable. The larger standard enables heavier freight cars and improves competitiveness against truck transport, he said.

Lawmakers and rail officials discussed transload and intermodal economics. Vermont Rail System said large intermodal terminals with high lift volumes (for example, Albany, Springfield and Montreal) draw much of the containerized traffic and make competing directly for intermodal trailer/container business difficult at smaller local terminals. The company said there is still potential for intermodal and transload growth on the Connecticut River Line (Newport to White River Junction) and that new transload facilities and upgraded infrastructure could attract more freight from trucks to rail.

Hohin described targeted business wins: one formerly small branch now handles about 800 cars a year by moving granite tailings for Great Lakes breakwater projects, an example the company uses to show how marketing and facility development can spur growth. He said the company is looking to make the Washington County and Connecticut River lines more competitive and is pursuing grants to fund welded rail and bridge upgrades that would support freight growth.

Committee members asked about operations, flood and emergency responses, passenger service and marketing. Hohin described partnerships with other regional rail operators to reroute traffic during work windows and emergencies; he cited a recent example moving traffic to Bellows Falls via Berkshire & Eastern (Genesee & Wyoming affiliate) to maintain service while work occurred elsewhere. He also confirmed the company hosts Amtrak service (Ethan Allen corridor) and operates seasonal tourist passenger trains and private rail‑car movements in coordination with Amtrak.

On workforce and economic development, Hohin said the company works with property the state owns along corridors to identify and develop transload or customer sites, and it markets the system with new system maps the company brings to customers. The company noted a desire to reconnect lines (for example, restoring connectivity in northern New Hampshire and St. Johnsbury) to access potential new traffic.

The committee did not vote on any measure. Vermont Rail System representatives invited lawmakers to inspect system operations and offered to provide maps and follow‑up materials on state‑owned rail assets and potential sites for transload or industrial development.