Editing Ethan Allen Express (section)

=== Future ===
{{anchor|Green Mountain Corridor}}
VTrans listed several possible improvements to the ''Ethan Allen Express'' in the 2021 Vermont Rail Plan. These included potential [[Infill station|infill]] [[Request stop|flag stops]] in [[Brandon, Vermont|Brandon]] and [[Shelburne, Vermont|Shelburne]].<ref name="2021vrp">{{Cite book |url=https://vtrans.vermont.gov/sites/aot/files/planning/documents/Vermont%20Rail%20Plan%205-20-2021%20Final.pdf |title=Vermont Rail Plan |date=May 2021 |publisher=Vermont Agency of Transportation}}</ref>{{rp|41}} [[Positive train control]] and track upgrades would allow the ''Ethan Allen Express'' to reach speeds of {{convert|79|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}, up from {{convert|59|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}, on sections between Whitehall and Burlington. This would save about 15 minutes per trip, with an estimated increase of 1,400 to 2,600 annual riders by 2040.<ref name="forecast" />{{rp|17–19}} VTrans also analyzed a possible {{Convert|7.8|mi|abbr=on|adj=on}} extension of the ''Ethan Allen Express'' from Burlington to [[Essex Junction station|Essex Junction]] via the [[New England Central Railroad]] Winooski Branch, where transfer could be made with the [[Vermonter (train)|''Vermonter'']]. The branch would first have to be upgraded to increase its current passenger train speed limit of {{convert|15|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}.<ref name="2021vrp" />{{rp|40}} This would attract between 4,900 and 7,800 additional riders per year by 2040 (assuming the ''Vermonter'' is extended to [[Montreal]]).<ref name="forecast" />{{rp|15–17}}

In 2014, VTrans and the [[New York State Department of Transportation]] studied the potential serving southwestern Vermont either with a second daily train or rerouting the ''Ethan Allen Express''. The proposed alternative was to extend an ''Empire Service'' train to Rutland, operating on a more southern route than the ''Ethan Allen Express'' between [[Glenville, Schenectady County, New York|Glenville, New York]] and Rutland. It would use existing Canadian Pacific Railway (now Canadian Pacific Kansas City), [[Pan Am Railways]] (now CSX Transportation), and Vermont Railway freight lines, with new intermediate stops at [[Mechanicville, New York]], [[North Bennington, Vermont]], and [[Manchester, Vermont]].<ref name="bistate">{{Cite web |date=July 2014 |title=New York – Vermont Bi-State Intercity Passenger Rail Study: Service Development Plan |url=https://vtrans.vermont.gov/sites/aot/files/planning/documents/planning/vt-ny.pdf |publisher=Vermont Agency of Transportation}}</ref> The 2021 Vermont Rail Plan indicated that should it be implemented, this second service would also extend to Burlington.<ref name="forecast">{{Cite web |date=May 2021 |title=Vermont Rail Plan: Passenger Rail Forecasting Scenarios |url=https://vtrans.vermont.gov/sites/aot/files/planning/documents/Tech%20Memo%204_PassengerRailRidershipForecast_20210511.pdf |website=Vermont Rail Plan |publisher=Vermont Agency of Transportation}}</ref>{{rp|8–10}}

In December 2023, the [[Federal Railroad Administration]] accepted an application by VTrans to enter the New York–Albany–Mechanicville–Bennington–Rutland–Burlington route into its [[Corridor Identification and Development Program]]. The program grants $500,000 toward service planning and prioritizes the route for future federal funding. The application referred to the route as the Green Mountain Corridor.<ref>{{cite web |title=FY22 Corridor Identification and Development Program Selections |url=https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/2023-12/FY22%20CID%20Project%20Summaries-Map-r1.pdf |publisher=[[Federal Railroad Administration]] |date=December 2023 |page=11}}</ref>