Advocates press deadline for Vermonter to Montreal; agency says progress continues

A public advocate, Carl Fowler, told the Senate Transportation Committee the long-running effort to reestablish Vermonter service to Montreal has stalled and urged the committee to set concrete milestone deadlines and contingency options.

Fowler, a longtime rail advocate and member of the State Rail Advisory Council, said the project "has dragged on to a degree that is almost beyond belief" and proposed that "if by for example the end of fiscal year 2027 we haven't been able to show that we have a plan for the necessary track work or we have an agreed upon design for the customs facility in central station," the state should pivot to shorter-term projects or interim bus connections. He described exploring bus connections, chartered service or other limited coordinated transfers as lower-cost ways to restore cross-border connectivity while larger engineering and customs issues are resolved.

Agency staff, including Rail Director Dan Lavier, replied that the Montreal effort is active and involves multiple partners (Amtrak, state partners, station owners and federal agencies) and that work is progressing on concept and engineering phases. Lavier cautioned that Customs and Border Protection has said it will not provide the type of border processing the state once used at the border, and that station engineering in Montreal is complex and not yet at publicly releasable design stage. "I can assure you it's moving," Lavier said.

Committee members and the presenter discussed practical near-term steps the state might take if cross-border complications persist, including restoring a bus link as an interim connection, localized track patching near the border, or operational coordination to improve last-mile connections. Staff said some interim options are possible but emphasized limitations: "That is really about money," one presenter said when describing operational and capital barriers such as equipment servicing, fueling and crew hours.

No formal committee decision or vote was recorded; staff offered to return with further updates as plans and engineering documents mature and said they will notify the committee as milestone timing becomes clearer.