Town Revives Rail Identity

The Associated Press Oct 10, 2000:

WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, VT - White River Junction is returning to its roots as a railroad center.  Two railroads operate switching yards in the town of Hartford; a third has signed to operate there; and a fourth railroad is expected to sign a contract soon.

The most recent addition is Northern Vermont railroad, which after months of negotiations signed a 10-year contract with the state to operate a 40-mile line from White River Junction north to Wells river.  The influx of railroads will provide businesses with a new way to ship goods to and from the Northeast Kingdom and Canada.  In addition, Amtrak is looking to a a shipping service for finished and perishable goods from the region.  Although the service is aimed at businesses, train passengers might benefit.  If hauling freight proves profitable, Amtrak might add passenger cars to the line between White River Junction and Montreal.  

"I think it's safe to say that by the end of this month you'll see our first train into White River Junction," Northern Vermont district manager Bill Magee said last week.  "In the beginning it will probably be a mixture s some intermodal (piggy-backed trucks and containers), some lumber, and some paper.  It'll start out slow and small and hopefully grow rapidly."

Northern Vermont, which is part of Maine-based Bangor & Aroostook Railroad system, which includes Canadian American and Quebec Southern railroads, reaches Montreal and northern Maine.

Now Northern Vermont expects to bring traffic from its northern operations to White River Junction to transfer it to the New England Central and Boston & Maine railroads, which serve the area.  The Claremont Concord Railroad plans to operate in White River Junction by mid-November. 

Northern Vermont won the contract in a heated bidding war between a half dozen railroads that expressed interest in the long-dormant line after the state agreed in December to pay $3.3 million to buy the right of way.

The 40-mile line, named the Berlin Branch because it once was the main link to the paper mills of Berlin, N.H., fell into dis-repair during the 1990s.