Vermont Rail System summary
The Vermont Rail System is a privately held company that operates multiple short lines. It’s family-owned by the Wulfson family for more than 50 years. With more than 400 miles of standard-gauge track, the company’s six railroads serve the communities in Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York with both freight and passenger service.
History
It was Jay L. Wulfson and his team who started Vermont Rail System after signing a lease to operate the former Rutland Railroad on August 6, 1963. At the time, the abandoned trackage fell into the ownership of the State of Vermont who was under serious pressure to find a suitable operator. On January 6, 1964, operations began out of Burlington, Vt., as Vermont Railway, the first privately owned railroad operating on a publicly owned right of way. The Clarendon and Pittsford Railroad was purchased from the Vermont Marble Company in 1972, marking the beginning of acquisitions and expansion. Beginning in 1997, Vermont Rail System was established as a trade name for the company that has now grown to six railroads.
Operations
Vermont Rail System provides freight services to Vermont, New Hampshire and Upstate New York through its six railroads: the Vermont Railway, Green Mountain Railroad, Clarendon and Pittsford Railroad, Washington County Railroad, New York and Ogdensburg Railway, and New England Southern Railroad. While individual to one another based on location and customer base, the railroads form a strategic alliance for better usage in personnel and equipment to increase quality service. Nearly 90% of the inbound and outbound freight serves businesses in the Green Mountain State. Passenger service on the VRS is provided with scenic excursions on the Green Mountain Railroad out of Chester, Vt., and the Champlain Valley Dinner Train on the Vermont Railway out of Burlington.
The company’s roster holds a vast fleet of EMD diesel locomotives, from GP38-2s to GP40FH-2s. The motive power of the six railroads rotates among the properties. Since 2022, repainting of the units has taken place in the scheme of Vermont Railway’s bright red with white stylized mountain peaks logo reading “Vermont Rail System.”
The VRS serves as a critical link for international and inter-regional trade by interchanging with other short line and Class I railroads in Canada, the New England region, and the Eastern United States. Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express has trackage rights on sections of the Clarendon and Pittsford Railroad and Vermont Railway as it carries passengers daily from New York City to Burlington.
Read more about the Vermont Rail System in Trains’ June 2013 issue.
