BRATTLEBORO, Vt. (AP) — Construction on a new, $4.5 million Amtrak passenger rail station in downtown Brattleboro is set to begin in 2022.
The proposed project will be built near the Connecticut River in the south end of Brattleboro, the first stop for northbound trains entering the state from Massachusetts.
“Brattleboro’s waterfront will be the place to be, and it will serve as a proper gateway to Vermont,” Danny Lichtenfeld, the director of the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, told the Brattleboro Reformer.
In fiscal 2019, the Brattleboro Station provided 16,765 customer trips to passengers of Amtrak’s Vermonter, which travels between New York and St. Albans.
Amtrak hasn’t operated in Vermont since March after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the suspension of service. It’s unclear when service will resume.
The new station planned for Brattleboro will include an elevated boarding platform that will be the first in Vermont that will allow passengers to move on or off a train without having to step up or down.
Additional amenities include parking, ramps and steps up to the platform level, lights, signage, a new waiting room with an attached restroom, and covered outdoor seating.
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