Back to Burlington. On Friday, July 29, 2022, the first Amtrak Ethan Allen Express (Train 290) departed from Burlington, Vermont for New York Penn Station in cooperation with the Vermont Agency of Transportation, the first revenue passenger train to connect to the national network since the end of Rutland Railway passenger service June 26, 1953. Years of planning and construction culminated in the operation of this extension over existing Vermont Railway trackage from Rutland to Burlington, a distance of approximately 67 miles. Part of the construction was a $72 million 360 foot long tunnel under the city of Middlebury, Vermont. On July 10, 2022, Amtrak crews were operating FRA mandated familiarization runs over the route ahead of the beginning of revenue service, as AMTK 705 (P32AC-DM) leads towards Rutland, where the train will change ends before heading for New York's Penn Station.
