|
The ''Ethan Allen Express'' is a 241-mile (388 km) passenger train service operated by Amtrak between New York City and Rutland, Vermont, via Albany, New York. The scheduled total trip time is 5.5 hours. Operations are subsidized by the state of Vermont, and the train is popular among vacationers travelling to the ski resort area of Killington, Vermont. The ''Ethan Allen Express'' is named for the American Revolutionary War hero Ethan Allen. ==History== Service was initiated in December 2, 1996. It was the first train on that route since 1953. Notably, the Rutland–Whitehall segment had not seen a passenger train since 1936. Until May 2002, the train included a baggage car for skis and unboxed bicycles as well as checked baggage.〔(FW: Erosion of Amtrak bike access ) Posted June 11, 2002〕 In October 2008, the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) proposed eliminating the ''Ethan Allen Express'' and replacing it with a bus citing budgetary restrictions. The proposal was rejected by the appropriate legislative committee.〔(Ethan Allen Safe . . . Until January ) Posted Thursday, 18 December 2008〕 VTrans again proposed ending service in January 2009. Two hundred people rallied at Rutland station against the proposed cut. Rail advocates, led by the Vermont Rail Action Network〔(Vermont Rail Action Network 2009 Accomplishments ) January 5, 2010〕 and local political leaders〔() Rutland Herald: State panel, county delegation speak against Amtrak bus service]January 10, 2009〕 organized to fight the cut and plans to drop the service were abandoned. On February 23, 2011, VTrans began an investigation into the Vermont Rail System's (VRS) handling of the ''Ethan Allen Express'' between Whitehall, New York and Rutland after Amtrak notified the state that track conditions meant the train was frequently delayed. Amtrak evaluated the line as the worst in the nation. During the summer of 2011, VRS conducted work to improve the track in question, planned to result in an eighteen-minute reduction in travel time by the end of the year, with additional work planned for the summer of 2012.〔 The project was funded by both the railroad and the state of New York at a cost of $3.25 million, and involved rebuilding about of track and eight grade crossings. By February 2012, the trackwork had resulted in a 15-minute southbound and 25-minute northbound reduction in travel time between Rutland and Whitehall, while the total time the ''Ethan Allen Express'' operated behind schedule fell to 135 minutes in December 2011, from 11,068 minutes a year earlier. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ethan Allen Express」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|