All aboard: Amtrak Vermont service to begin July 19

MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) - Vermont Amtrak service will resume July 19 after a 15-month hiatus prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Officials say tickets are now available for both the Vermonter and Ethan Allen Express state-supported train service. Face coverings will be required as per federal law and trains have been outfitted with air filtration systems.

“The trains will be running on the same schedules that were in place when the state suspended service on March 26, 2020. We appreciate the patience of all of our customers, including the many Vermonters who relied on these trains for transportation when the pandemic struck,” Transportation Secretary Joe Flynn said in a statement Tuesday.

The train service was suspended last March due to the governor’s state of emergency. On July 4, the state’s reopening plan calls for an end to all capacity and quarantine restrictions for visitors.

The Vermonter originates in Washington D.C. with daily service to St. Albans and the Ethan Allen Express starts in New York City and ends in Rutland.