VTrans details rail assets, bridge priorities and steps toward Vermonter extension to Montreal

Daniel Abbir, rail bureau director for the Vermont Agency of Transportation, told the House Transportation Committee on Jan. 22 that rail is “extremely important to the state of Vermont” and outlined the agency's rail assets, safety priorities and work on a long‑term passenger extension to Montreal.

Abbir said the state is the largest owner of railroad property in Vermont, with about 572 miles of active railroad in the state and 298 miles owned by VTrans. The state also holds 149 miles of rail property that have been rail‑banked and converted to trails. VTrans contracts freight operations on many state‑owned lines to Vermont Rail Systems (VRS), a short‑line operator that Abbir described as focusing on Vermont shippers and receivers.

The agency emphasized the freight role that rail plays for commodities such as road salt, feed, fuel oil, propane, stone products, lumber and grain for farmers. Abbir said about 150–200 railcars move through Vermont daily and that, without rail, the equivalent freight would add an estimated 600–800 tractor‑trailer trips per day to roads.

VTrans described its asset portfolio and inspection responsibilities: 172 rail bridges (subject to annual Federal Railroad Administration reporting), 422 public highway‑rail crossings, and a bridge program that prioritizes upgrades to meet a 286,000‑pound per‑car freight standard. Abbir said 160 of 172 VTrans‑owned bridges (about 93%) currently meet the 286,000‑pound capacity target; 12 do not, with three considered “serious” and nine rated “poor.” The bureau noted substantial improvements over the last decade; Abbir said roughly 10 years ago only about 100 bridges met the standard.

As project examples, Abbir described a bridge replacement in Shaftesbury and a summer program addressing 29 bridges between Rutland and Hoosick, N.Y. He said many projects respond to flood and weather damage and that funding cycles and grant availability shape the pace of repairs.

On passenger service, Abbir said VTrans contracts with Amtrak for two intercity routes: the Ethan Allen (extended from Rutland to Burlington) and the Vermonter (which runs through Essex Junction and Brattleboro to Washington, D.C.). He called both services successful and noted 14 Vermont station stops statewide.

Extending the Vermonter to Montreal is a stated agency priority. Abbir said VTrans is meeting regularly with partners in Quebec, Amtrak and New York—sometimes twice a month—to coordinate the project and that the agency has reallocated internal staff time to the effort. Key obstacles include the need for a Canadian pre‑clearance facility, about eight miles of track in Canada that require rehabilitation for passenger speeds, cross‑border regulatory coordination (U.S. and Canadian customs), and differences in funding mechanisms across jurisdictions. Abbir warned that the section of track from Swanton (near the border) into Canada is not yet ready for passenger service and that Quebec is preparing a report that may inform next steps.

Committee members asked technical and local‑impact questions. Abbir explained positive train control (PTC) as an automated collision‑avoidance system and said Vermont does not meet the PTC trigger threshold because of low train density; Vermont instead uses dispatcher‑issued track warrants for movement authority. He described the high capital and maintenance costs of PTC equipment and said he did not expect statewide PTC deployment in the near term. On freight routing and growth, Abbir said rail markets depend on the location of sidings and land adjacent to tracks; VTrans maintains a list of parcels suitable for shippers and shares that with rail operators.

Abbir also described VTrans safety and outreach programs, including the state Operation Lifesaver program (rail safety education), annual bridge inspections reported to the FRA, and a VTrans‑owned “snooper” truck used for bridge inspections that the bureau said saved money versus outsourcing specialized inspection equipment.

The agency said it is updating a statewide rail plan and that staff will share additional information with the committee as cross‑border partners release analyses. Abbir asked for patience on the Montreal extension, noting the project involves multiple countries, private rail owners and complex funding arrangements.

The committee took no formal action on the presentation; members asked questions and sought additional detail on train counts, local impacts of passenger service, and opportunities to transfer freight from trucks to rail to reduce road wear.

Abbir and VTrans staff said they will continue bridge projects, pursue available grants, and maintain discussions with Canadian and Amtrak partners on the Montreal extension.

Ending

VTrans told lawmakers it is progressing on prioritized bridge repairs and regional freight support while continuing cross‑border coordination and planning for a possible Vermonter extension to Montreal. The agency said it will return with updates as partner jurisdictions publish their studies and funding decisions.