VTrans highlights bridge work, Amtrak subsidy and corridor planning in FY26 rail budget presentation

Dan Delabriere, rail program director at the Vermont Agency of Transportation, told the House Transportation Committee on Jan. 30, 2025, that the agency's FY26 rail budget centers on bridge replacements, platform reconstructions, continued Amtrak subsidies and corridor‑level planning to support future federal grant applications.

Delabriere summarized a heavy construction year in the prior season, noting work on 29 bridges between Rutland and the New York state line and describing the logistics of closing a rail section for concentrated construction. "We closed the railroad down for 21 days," he said, then described the rerouting and coordination required to keep freight moving during that work.

The rail budget includes the state's share of Amtrak subsidies for two daily Vermont routes — the Vermonter and the Ethan Allen — which Delabriere estimated at about $9.5 million for the coming year when fares and federal offsets are accounted for. He told committee members that Burlington ridership grew strongly in the first two years of service: he noted Burlington station trips doubled from roughly 15,000 to about 28,000 over a 12‑month period.

Delabriere outlined several project categories in the FY26 request: bridge and FEMA mitigation projects (22 bridges and multiple FEMA projects were discussed), three station platform reconstructions (Hartford, Bellows Falls and Rutland), and corridor‑level engineering and scoping work for two passenger corridors — a Vermonter corridor that the agency extended conceptually to Montreal in its application and a Green Mountain corridor that covers Ethan Allen service and potential extensions.

He said corridor work is designed to prepare competitive federal grant applications under FRA discretionary programs; the agency is funding corridor scoping now (federally eligible), then expects a phased federal cost‑share approach for later design and construction work. Delabriere told the committee that most rail infrastructure funding in recent years has depended on competitive federal grants and that the agency has been successful but must keep building competitive project packages to win funding.

Delabriere noted other FY26 items including the final bridge construction tied to a prior BUILD‑type grant (the last of 29 bridge projects), a transload/siding project in Barton to support propane unloading and local grain/barley traffic, and oversight of large federal grants for railroads the state does not own (for example, Saint Lawrence and Atlantic work in the Northeast and Windsor–St. Albans projects managed with railroad matches). He said most of those large grants include no state dollars but require state project oversight.

Committee members asked about platform work, train speeds and Amtrak equipment; Delabriere said new Amtrak cars are being built in phases and will be introduced regionally over several years, and described variable line speeds across the route (for example, slower speeds on some segments and up to 110 mph in other segments). A member asked how FEMA funds are used after storm damage; Delabriere said initial repairs aim to reopen the line quickly, followed by design and mitigation work to reduce the risk of repeat washouts, with FEMA providing pre‑disaster standards and mitigation where justified.

Delabriere told lawmakers that one funding line in the budget had a labeling error and will be corrected by budget adjustment; he also said the agency is preparing for the FRA Corridor ID program and has budgeted for next steps in that effort. He asked the committee to note that most of the budgeted dollars are secured or tied to specific federal grants, with the exception of one FEMA mitigation request that remains pending.

No votes were taken; Delabriere said staff will return with details on design schedules and grant outcomes as they become available.