South of Springfield, the Valley Flyer complements the Hartford Line commuter rail service operated by the Connecticut Department of Transportation and Amtrak's Hartford Line service. North of Springfield, it complements Amtrak's Vermonter, offering travelers in the Valley three daily round trips on the Connecticut River Line.
On June 12, 2018, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced that two daily round trip Hartford Line trains (then called New Haven–Springfield Shuttle) would be extended to Greenfield in 2019 as a pilot program.[4] By February 2019, the two-year pilot was expected to begin in June 2019; however, by that May it was delayed to later in the year.[5][6]
On August 30, 2019, the Valley Flyer program began with a 5:45 am departure south from Greenfield.[7] As a basis for continuing the Valley Flyer permanently, MassDOT set a goal of attracting at least 24,000 new riders per year during the pilot program. To this end, the 2020 Massachusetts state budget provided $250,000 to market the program. Thewatsons—a New York-based ad agency that has worked with Grand Central Terminal and CTrides—was contracted in fall 2019 to create the marketing campaign.[8] From March 30, 2020, to July 26, 2021, one daily round trip was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9]
In October 2022, MassDOT and Amtrak announced that the Valley Flyer service had matched projected ridership and would be made permanent.[10]
Proposed extensionedit
In the 2021 Vermont Rail Plan, VTrans modeled the potential extension of one daily Valley Flyer round-trip north from Greenfield to White River Junction, Vermont, and south from New Haven to Washington. This service would further supplement the Vermonter by doubling its frequency at four stations in Vermont and one in New Hampshire. VTrans forecast that this extension would attract an additional 30,500 to 50,200 riders per year by 2040.[11] VTrans also considered extending a second daily Valley Flyer round-trip north to Brattleboro, but dropped this idea since the station lacks a turning mechanism.[11]
Serviceedit
Two New Haven-Greenfield round-trips are offered on weekdays, with southbound trains in the morning and northbound in the evening. On weekends, one similarly scheduled New Haven-Greenfield round-trip is offered, in addition to a reverse round trip between Springfield and Greenfield.[12][13]Valley Flyer trains meet Acela Express and Northeast Regional services at New Haven Union Station where passengers can typically make a cross-platform transfer between trains. Departures on the Valley Flyer are timed to make day trips between the Connecticut River Valley and New York City possible.[14]
^"Amtrak Timetable Results". www.amtrak.com. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
^"AMTRAK RUNS TEST TRAINS OF UP TO 110 MPH IN PREPARATION FOR THE LAUNCH OF THE HARTFORD LINE ON JUNE 16" (Press release). Connecticut Department of Transportation. June 6, 2018. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
^Kinney, Jim (August 24, 2019). "Amtrak announces Valley Flyer train schedule for Knowledge Corridor". masslive. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
^Tuthill, Paul (June 12, 2018). "Commuter Trains To Run North Of Springfield Starting In 2019". WAMC. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
^Kinney, Jim (February 1, 2019). "Springfield-Holyoke-Northampton-Greenfield passenger trains a go for summer". Mass Live.
^Fritz, Anita (May 2, 2019). "Greenfield to see extended passenger rail service by end of summer". Greenfield Recorder.
^Dunau, Bera (August 30, 2019). "A new dawn for rail? Valley Flyer pilot makes its debut". Daily Hampshire Gazette. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
^Fritz, Anita (December 1, 2019). "NYC firm to begin marketing Valley Flyer train service". Daily Hampshire Gazette. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
^"AMTRAK AND MASSDOT ANNOUNCE RE-START OF SECOND VALLEY FLYER ROUNDTRIP TRAIN SERVICE IN WESTERN AND NORTHERN MASSACHUSETTS" (Press release). Amtrak. June 22, 2021.
^"Massachusetts and Amtrak Officials Announce Valley Flyer Passenger Service Will Become Permanent" (Press release). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. October 28, 2022.
^ ab"Vermont Rail Plan: Passenger Rail Forecasting Scenarios" (PDF). Vermont Agency of Transportation. May 2021. p. 14-15. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
^"AMTRAK AND MASSDOT ANNOUNCE START OF NEW VALLEY FLYER TRAIN SERVICE IN WESTERN AND NORTHERN MASSACHUSETTS" (Press release). Amtrak. August 27, 2019.
^"Valley Flyer". Trains In The Valley. March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
^"Executive Summary" (PDF). Connecticut Department of Transportation. p. 4. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
^ ab"Stations". Hartford Line. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
^"Northeast Corridor Boston/Springfield-Washington Timetable" (PDF). Amtrak. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
^"Metro-North New Haven Line Timetable" (PDF). Metro-North Railroad. January 22, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
^(PDF). Shore Line East. January 22, 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 21, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Valley Flyer (Amtrak train).
Valley Flyer | Trains In The Valley
December 18, 2023
valley, flyer, amtrak, train, valley, flyer, train, service, amtrak, between, haven, connecticut, greenfield, massachusetts, along, amtrak, haven, springfield, line, massachusetts, department, transportation, connecticut, river, line, valley, flyeramtrak, trai. The Valley Flyer is a train service run by Amtrak between New Haven Connecticut and Greenfield Massachusetts along Amtrak s New Haven Springfield Line and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation s Connecticut River Line Valley FlyerAmtrak train 471 the Valley Flyer waiting for departure at Springfield Union Station January 24 2020OverviewService typeInter city railStatusOperatingLocaleConnecticut and MassachusettsFirst serviceAugust 30 2019Current operator s Amtrak in partnership with CTDOT and MassDOTRouteTerminiNew Haven ConnecticutGreenfield MassachusettsStops12Distance travelled102 miles 164 km Average journey time2 hours 42 48 minutes 1 Service frequency2 daily round tripsTrain number s 400 461 471 478 488 494 495 499On board servicesClass es CoachTechnicalRolling stockGE Genesis locomotives Amfleet coach cars and Ex Metroliner cab carsTrack gauge4 ft 8 1 2 in 1 435 mm standard gaugeOperating speedUp to 110 mph 180 km h New Haven Springfield 2 Up to 79 mph 127 km h Springfield Greenfield Track owner s Amtrak amp MassDOTRoute mapLegendVermonter to St Albans102 mi164 km Greenfield83 mi134 km Northampton72 mi116 km HolyokeLake Shore LimitedChicago Boston62 mi100 km SpringfieldMACT47 mi76 km Windsor Locks43 mi69 km Windsor37 mi60 km Hartford26 mi42 km Berlin19 mi31 km Meriden13 mi21 km WallingfordNortheast Corridor to Boston1 mi2 km New HavenState Street0 mi New HavenUnion StationNortheast Corridor to New YorkThis diagram viewtalkeditValley Flyer trains meet Acela and Northeast Regional services at New Haven Union Station where passengers can typically make a cross platform transfer between trains Departures on the Valley Flyer are timed to make day trips between the Connecticut River Valley and New York City possible 3 South of Springfield the Valley Flyer complements the Hartford Line commuter rail service operated by the Connecticut Department of Transportation and Amtrak s Hartford Line service North of Springfield it complements Amtrak s Vermonter offering travelers in the Valley three daily round trips on the Connecticut River Line Contents 1 History 1 1 Proposed extension 2 Service 3 Stations 4 References 5 External linksHistory editOn June 12 2018 Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced that two daily round trip Hartford Line trains then called New Haven Springfield Shuttle would be extended to Greenfield in 2019 as a pilot program 4 By February 2019 the two year pilot was expected to begin in June 2019 however by that May it was delayed to later in the year 5 6 On August 30 2019 the Valley Flyer program began with a 5 45 am departure south from Greenfield 7 As a basis for continuing the Valley Flyer permanently MassDOT set a goal of attracting at least 24 000 new riders per year during the pilot program To this end the 2020 Massachusetts state budget provided 250 000 to market the program Thewatsons a New York based ad agency that has worked with Grand Central Terminal and CTrides was contracted in fall 2019 to create the marketing campaign 8 From March 30 2020 to July 26 2021 one daily round trip was suspended due to the COVID 19 pandemic 9 In October 2022 MassDOT and Amtrak announced that the Valley Flyer service had matched projected ridership and would be made permanent 10 Proposed extension edit In the 2021 Vermont Rail Plan VTrans modeled the potential extension of one daily Valley Flyer round trip north from Greenfield to White River Junction Vermont and south from New Haven to Washington This service would further supplement the Vermonter by doubling its frequency at four stations in Vermont and one in New Hampshire VTrans forecast that this extension would attract an additional 30 500 to 50 200 riders per year by 2040 11 VTrans also considered extending a second daily Valley Flyer round trip north to Brattleboro but dropped this idea since the station lacks a turning mechanism 11 Service editTwo New Haven Greenfield round trips are offered on weekdays with southbound trains in the morning and northbound in the evening On weekends one similarly scheduled New Haven Greenfield round trip is offered in addition to a reverse round trip between Springfield and Greenfield 12 13 Valley Flyer trains meet Acela Express and Northeast Regional services at New Haven Union Station where passengers can typically make a cross platform transfer between trains Departures on the Valley Flyer are timed to make day trips between the Connecticut River Valley and New York City possible 14 Stations editState Milepost km 15 Location Station 16 Connections 17 16 18 19 MA 102 mi 164 km Greenfield John W Olver Transit Center nbsp Amtrak Vermonter nbsp FRTA 20 21 24 31 32 41 nbsp Greyhound Lines83 mi 134 km Northampton Northampton Union Station nbsp Amtrak Vermonter nbsp PVTA B48 G73E R41 R4472 mi 116 km Holyoke Holyoke nbsp Amtrak Vermonter nbsp PVTA R24 R29 T24 X9062 mi 100 km Springfield Springfield Union Station nbsp Amtrak Lake Shore Limited Northeast Regional Vermonter Hartford Line nbsp CTrail Hartford Line nbsp PVTA B4 B6 B7 B7S B12 B17 G1 G2 G2E G3 P20 P20E P21 P21E R10 R14 X92 LOOP nbsp Greyhound Lines nbsp Peter Pan Bus LinesCT 47 4 mi 76 3 km Windsor Locks Windsor Locks nbsp Amtrak Northeast Regional Vermonter Hartford Line nbsp CTrail Hartford Line42 9 mi 69 0 km Windsor Windsor nbsp Amtrak Northeast Regional Hartford Line nbsp CTrail Hartford Line36 7 mi 59 1 km Hartford Hartford Union Station nbsp Amtrak Northeast Regional Vermonter Hartford Line nbsp CTrail Hartford Line nbsp CTfastrak26 1 mi 42 0 km Berlin Berlin nbsp Amtrak Northeast Regional Hartford Line nbsp CTrail Hartford Line18 7 mi 30 1 km Meriden Meriden Transit Center nbsp Amtrak Northeast Regional Vermonter Hartford Line nbsp CTrail Hartford Line13 0 mi 20 9 km Wallingford Wallingford nbsp Amtrak Northeast Regional Hartford Line nbsp CTrail Hartford Line0 6 mi 0 97 km New Haven New Haven State Street nbsp Amtrak Northeast Regional Hartford Line nbsp CTrail Hartford Line Shore Line East nbsp Metro North Railroad New Haven Line0 mi 0 km New Haven Union Station nbsp Amtrak Acela Hartford Line Northeast Regional Vermonter nbsp CTrail Hartford Line Shore Line East nbsp Metro North Railroad New Haven Line nbsp Local bus CTtransit New Haven nbsp Intercity bus nbsp Greyhound Peter PanReferences edit Amtrak Timetable Results www amtrak com Retrieved December 20 2021 AMTRAK RUNS TEST TRAINS OF UP TO 110 MPH IN PREPARATION FOR THE LAUNCH OF THE HARTFORD LINE ON JUNE 16 Press release Connecticut Department of Transportation June 6 2018 Retrieved June 9 2018 Kinney Jim August 24 2019 Amtrak announces Valley Flyer train schedule for Knowledge Corridor masslive Retrieved August 2 2021 Tuthill Paul June 12 2018 Commuter Trains To Run North Of Springfield Starting In 2019 WAMC Retrieved June 12 2018 Kinney Jim February 1 2019 Springfield Holyoke Northampton Greenfield passenger trains a go for summer Mass Live Fritz Anita May 2 2019 Greenfield to see extended passenger rail service by end of summer Greenfield Recorder Dunau Bera August 30 2019 A new dawn for rail Valley Flyer pilot makes its debut Daily Hampshire Gazette Retrieved August 2 2021 Fritz Anita December 1 2019 NYC firm to begin marketing Valley Flyer train service Daily Hampshire Gazette Retrieved August 2 2021 AMTRAK AND MASSDOT ANNOUNCE RE START OF SECOND VALLEY FLYER ROUNDTRIP TRAIN SERVICE IN WESTERN AND NORTHERN MASSACHUSETTS Press release Amtrak June 22 2021 Massachusetts and Amtrak Officials Announce Valley Flyer Passenger Service Will Become Permanent Press release Massachusetts Department of Transportation October 28 2022 a b Vermont Rail Plan Passenger Rail Forecasting Scenarios PDF Vermont Agency of Transportation May 2021 p 14 15 Retrieved August 1 2021 AMTRAK AND MASSDOT ANNOUNCE START OF NEW VALLEY FLYER TRAIN SERVICE IN WESTERN AND NORTHERN MASSACHUSETTS Press release Amtrak August 27 2019 Valley Flyers debut Trains December 2019 page 19 Valley Flyer Trains In The Valley March 11 2016 Retrieved March 18 2021 Executive Summary PDF Connecticut Department of Transportation p 4 Retrieved June 4 2018 a b Stations Hartford Line Retrieved February 25 2019 Northeast Corridor Boston Springfield Washington Timetable PDF Amtrak Retrieved September 23 2019 Metro North New Haven Line Timetable PDF Metro North Railroad January 22 2019 Retrieved February 25 2019 Shore Line East Rail Service Information PDF Shore Line East January 22 2019 Archived from the original PDF on December 21 2019 Retrieved February 25 2019 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Valley Flyer Amtrak train Valley Flyer Trains In The Valley Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Valley Flyer Amtrak train amp oldid 1182855803, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
