Valley Flyer

On June 12, 2018, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced that two daily round trip {{lnl|Amtrak|Hartford Line}} trains (then called New Haven–Springfield Shuttle) would be extended to {{amtk|Greenfield}} in 2019 as a pilot program.{{cite news |url=http://wamc.org/post/commuter-trains-run-north-springfield-starting-2019 |newspaper=WAMC |title=Commuter Trains To Run North Of Springfield Starting In 2019 |date=June 12, 2018 |first=Paul |last=Tuthill |access-date=June 12, 2018 |archive-date=June 13, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613015439/http://wamc.org/post/commuter-trains-run-north-springfield-starting-2019 |url-status=dead }} 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.{{cite news |url=https://www.masslive.com/business/2019/02/springfield-holyoke-northampton-greenfield-passenger-trains-a-go-for-summer.html |title=Springfield-Holyoke-Northampton-Greenfield passenger trains a go for summer |newspaper=Mass Live |date=February 1, 2019 |first=Jim |last=Kinney}}{{cite news |url=https://www.recorder.com/Expanded-passenger-rail-this-summer-25245592 |title=Greenfield to see extended passenger rail service by end of summer |newspaper=Greenfield Recorder |date=May 2, 2019 |first=Anita |last=Fritz}}

On August 30, 2019, the Valley Flyer program began with a 5:45 am departure south from Greenfield.{{cite news |last1=Dunau |first1=Bera |title=A new dawn for rail? Valley Flyer pilot makes its debut |url=https://www.gazettenet.com/Valley-Flyer-service-begins-Friday-28029672 |access-date=August 2, 2021 |work=Daily Hampshire Gazette |date=August 30, 2019}} 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.{{cite news |last1=Fritz |first1=Anita |title=NYC firm to begin marketing Valley Flyer train service |url=https://www.gazettenet.com/Valley-Flyer-marketing-begins-30913407 |access-date=August 2, 2021 |work=Daily Hampshire Gazette |date=December 1, 2019}} From March 30, 2020, to July 26, 2021, one daily round trip was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite press release |url=https://media.amtrak.com/2021/06/amtrak-and-massdot-announce-re-start-of-second-valley-flyer-roundtrip-train-service-in-western-and-northern-massachusetts/ |title=AMTRAK AND MASSDOT ANNOUNCE RE-START OF SECOND VALLEY FLYER ROUNDTRIP TRAIN SERVICE IN WESTERN AND NORTHERN MASSACHUSETTS |date=June 22, 2021 |publisher=Amtrak}}

In October 2022, MassDOT and Amtrak announced that the Valley Flyer service had matched projected ridership and would be made permanent.{{cite press release |url=https://www.mass.gov/news/massachusetts-and-amtrak-officials-announce-valley-flyer-passenger-service-will-become-permanent |title=Massachusetts and Amtrak Officials Announce Valley Flyer Passenger Service Will Become Permanent |date=October 28, 2022 |publisher=Massachusetts Department of Transportation}}

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.{{cite web |title=Vermont Rail Plan: Passenger Rail Forecasting Scenarios |url=https://vtrans.vermont.gov/sites/aot/files/planning/documents/Tech%20Memo%204_PassengerRailRidershipForecast_20210511.pdf |publisher=Vermont Agency of Transportation |access-date=August 1, 2021 |date=May 2021 |page=14-15}} 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.

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.{{cite press release |url=https://media.amtrak.com/2019/08/amtrak-and-massdot-announce-start-of-new-valley-flyer-train-service-in-western-and-northern-massachusetts/ |title=AMTRAK AND MASSDOT ANNOUNCE START OF NEW VALLEY FLYER TRAIN SERVICE IN WESTERN AND NORTHERN MASSACHUSETTS |publisher=Amtrak |date=August 27, 2019}}Valley Flyers debut Trains December 2019 page 19 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.{{Cite web|date=March 11, 2016|title=Valley Flyer|url=https://trainsinthevalley.org/valley-flyer/|access-date=March 18, 2021|website=Trains In The Valley|language=en-US}}

{{Reflist}}

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• {{official website|https://www.amtrak.com/valley-flyer-train}}
• [https://trainsinthevalley.org/valley-flyer/ Valley Flyer] | Trains In The Valley

{{Amtrak routes}}

{{Connecticut transit}}

{{Massachusetts-Rhode Island transit agencies}}

{{Higher speed rail}}

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Category:New Haven–Springfield Line

Category:Amtrak routes

Category:Passenger rail transportation in Connecticut

Category:Passenger rail transportation in Massachusetts

Category:Railway services introduced in 2019

Category:2019 establishments in Connecticut

Category:2019 establishments in Massachusetts