Green Mountain State looks to Freight Rail for Roadway Damage Relief
Vermont’s short line and regional railroads provide vital connections to the larger North American freight rail network, linking the Green Mountain State to markets nationwide. To maximize these connections, track and bridges must be modernized to carry heavier railcars, which the state has said will play an important role in reducing truck traffic and highway wear and tear.
Eight freight railroads operate 578 miles of track and employ 204 in the Green Mountain State.* It would have taken approximately 401,000 additional truckloads to move the 7.2 million tons of freight that moved by rail in Vermont in 2017. Petroleum and lumber and wood products are the largest rail imports to the state.
*2017 data
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43 percent
decrease
in rail rates, 1981-2014.
That means the average rail customer today can ship nearly twice as much freight for about the same price it paid more than 30 years ago.
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