Champlain Flyer
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| Champlain Flyer | |
|---|---|
| Reporting marks | VTRX |
| Locale | Burlington, VT |
| Dates of operation | 2000–2003 |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge) |
| Headquarters | Burlington, VT |
The Champlain Flyer was a commuter train that operated between Burlington, Vermont south to the picturesque and affluent towns of Shelburne, Vermont and Charlotte, Vermont from 2000-2003.
The service was started up as a way for motorists to avoid traveling on US 7 during construction, and to take advantage of public funds earmarked for public transportation.
The train began its operation on December 4, 2000. The train's rolling stock consisted of a rebuilt Vermont Railway GP38-2, 10 ex-Virginia Railway Express de-motored RDC coaches, and, when needed, a baggage car with an HEP unit. The trains, though, never ran above three or four cars. The train never attracted the ridership it had hoped for and in 2002 was threatened to be cut from the state budget. The newly elected Gov. Jim Douglas (who succeded Gov. Howard Dean of Shelburne, Vermont) decided that the train was not viable, and the last train ran on February 28, 2003. Shortly adterwards however, the line was revived as the Champlain Valley Flyer branch of the Green Mountain Senic Railroad.
[edit] Ethan Allen Connection
The train's equipment had been used on another experimental train, the Ethan Allen Connection (EAC). The train ran from the Amtrak station in Rutland, Vermont to Burlington Union Station. The southbound train connected with the southbound Ethan Allen Express and the northbound Amtrak connected with the northbound EAC train. The train ran for only several months in 1999 before making its last run. The train operated with a Claredon & Pittsford GP20, 2 ex-VRE coaches, and a boxcar with an HEP unit.I saw thre or four coaches from the Champlain Flyer moving west in a CPR freight train at Trafalgar Road in Milton, Ontario on Monday 24 March 08.
[edit] Public Transportation in Greater Burlington Area
At the time that a Commuter Rail servicing two of the most affluent towns in Chittenden County, Vermont was touted, there were some voices calling for the public funding to instead be used to extend existing Burlington City bus routes to outlying low income areas within a fifteen mile radius where several mobile home communities are located. The theory was that public transportation to those locations would have a much stronger impact on the local economy by granting unemployed residents access to the City of Burlington, Vermont, and its employment market, elevating them out of the poverty level, adding to State tax rolls, and reducing State Welfare expenditures. It was reasoned that ridership would be substantial. It would also have created a larger, more permanent, public transportation network at a time of rising energy costs.
