Busy day at Northampton today with 48 passengers boarding the Amtrak Vermonter and 5 departing.

@hartfordline is adding some extra trains for Sunday's UConn championship parade.

Spring train travel season is heating up, even if the weather isn't. Amtrak shuttles 409, 461, 464, 465, and 488 for this Sunday, April 13 are all near capacity. UConn parade may have something to do with this but not all of it.

Heads up, bus substitutions will be back on the Amtrak Hartford Line and CTrail beginning Tuesday, April 22nd! Mostly late-morning, early-afternoon weekdays. Due to track work and new Windsor Locks station

Sunday's northbound Vermonter and Valley Flyer 488 both sold out today. Many college kids returning from Spring break. Alternatively you can take one of the other shuttles to Springfield, then hop on the PVTA's G73E express to Northampton.

Valley Flyer 461 is nearing capacity for both today and Sunday! Spring breakers heading out.

Busy Friday heading into Spring break, with both Vermonters sold out and some shuttles on the Hartford Line nearing capacity including the 475.

Recently released figures show that Northampton, MA, served 40,513 Amtrak customers in FY '24, an increase of 16.4% over FY '23! With just 6 trains a day!

Big news in the Naugatuck Valley of CT! valley.newhavenindependent.org/article/cons...

If you were counting on today's Amtrak 86 to get you to the Hartford Line, you're out of luck. It's cancelled due to weather down South. But you can take a Metro-North train leaving GCT at 12:34pm and arriving NHT at 2:36. Then transfer to Valley Flyer 486, leaving at 2:50 for all points North.

Just another "Frantic Friday" on the Hartford Line. Both Vermonters are or near sellouts, Amtrak shuttle 474 and Valley Flyer 494 approaching capacity! This is becoming a regular thing, not just at holiday time.

Today we are celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the return of train service to Northampton, MA. It has become one of the busiest stations on the Hartford Line and Vermonter service. Thousands of folks board and alight from here every year!

Five Amtrak Hartford Line shuttles and both Vermonters are at or near capacity today, therefore..

Amtrak and Valley Flyer shuttles filling up fast on the last Friday before the holidays! Already 474, 475, 486, and 494 at or near capacity! Vermonters both sold out. Remember, lots of CTrail trains to get you to New Haven and connections to Amtrak or Metro-North.

I haven't seen the November numbers yet, but CTrail is on pace to shatter ridership records this year. Through the end of October '24, the line has carried 678,551 passengers, a y/y growth of 22.5% and 13.9% ahead of the last pre-COVID year ('19)!

Don't look now, but beginning on Jan. 1, 2025, the cost to take your bike on Amtrak Hartford Line trains jumps from $5 to $20 on top of your ticket price! Fortunately, CTrail lets you bring your bike on free, w/o a reservation!

Impacted by or interested in the change of the morning southbound Valley Flyer service? Take this survey. Results will be shared with Amtrak and MassDOT, which recently and abruptly instituted these changes. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Just took a quick and easy trip to Hadley, MA on a packed B-43 bus to do some holiday shopping!

Tonight's Valley Flyer 494, leaving NHV at 7:45pm, is nearing capacity. Best to get an Amtrak ticket to assure your seat. You can expect a lot of these shuttles to fill up as we near Christmas. Also consider CTrail trains as a good alternative.

Hearing that there will be new bus service between Northampton and Pittsfield coming in the spring! This will be a welcome addition to the network.

Amtrak has a one-day, 25% sale, today, Dec. 3rd. Some bargains to be had. amtrak.com for details.

Thanksgiving may be over, but train travel is still booming! Both Amtrak Vermonters sold out for Monday, Dec. 2!

Amtrak shuttle 490, due to leave NHV at 11am, is at capacity! Can't remember this happening on the day of a holiday before, when travel is usually slower. People love riding the train!

The following Amtrak shuttles are at or near capacity: 474, 475, 417, 470, 494, with more to be added I'm sure! But also plenty of CTrail trains and coaches!

Don't fret if you get shut out of one of the Amtrak shuttles today! CTrail is running extra trainsets and coaches today and Wednesday! All aboard for holiday travel!

Amtrak shuttles on the Hartford Line are filling up quickly on this busy Thanksgiving week. But there are also plenty of CTrail trains running, including extras on Tuesday and Wednesday. If you're in Northampton you can connect to trains in Springfield via the PVTA's G73Express!

Good morning from beautiful, walkable, Downtown Northampton. Also reachable by train and bus.

Valley Flyers and Vermonter to Northampton sold out for Wednesday! If you're shut out, take one of the other Amtrak shuttles or CTrail trains to Springfield, then hop on the G73E express to Northampton, every 30 mins. service. Free, too!

Friday travel update: Amtrak shuttle 474 and 475 are nearing capacity and will only honor Amtrak tickets. Also, Vermonter 55, s/b, is sold out. More of the shuttles will likely fill up on this first day of the holiday travel crunch.

The numbers are in...the Amtrak Hartford Line set a new ridership record for FY '24 of 577,200 passengers vs. 439,000 in FY '23! Hopefully this growth will continue in the coming years.

Looks like CTrail is adding some trains for Thanksgiving week. Get the deets at hartfordline.com/fares-schedu...

Amtrak has updated its app and website to reflect the changes to its Valley Flyer service effective on 11/25. Glad they've done this to avoid further confusion but still not happy with the change.

Three Hartford Line shuttles are at or near capacity today, with more likely to come. More trains equal more riders. We need to add capacity as well.

Good morning, Northampton!

Pleased to learn that Amtrak's Vermonter service just set a new ridership record in the FY 2024! The total of passengers was 109,136! This despite many cancellations due to recent flooding and track work. Still waiting on the Hartford Line final numbers, which should also break records!

Although it looks like there is a replacement: 425 Valley Flyer Departs Greenfield, MA (GFD) - 6:20a Arrives Springfield, MA (SPG) - 7:28a 125 Northeast Regional Departs Springfield, MA (SPG) - 7:50a Arrives New York, NY - Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Sta. (NYP) - 11:21a

It keeps getting worse. It seems the 471 will not be running north of Springfield INDEFINITELY beginning Nov. 24. I checked schedules deep into 2025 and this is the case. I thought we might see stuff like this under the new regime, but not now. Am doing some checking to see what's up.

For some strange reason Amtrak will not be running the Valley Flyer 471 north of Springfield on Mon-Tue-Wed of Thanksgiving week! Train will originate in Springfield. These trains are usually packed with students and travelers on the busiest travel week of the year.

Back on here after a bit of a respite. Will try to catch up on following back new followers and continuing the fight for mass transit and pedestrian safety!

New schedule beginning on Sunday, March 24 for the G73E express bus between Springfield and Northampton! 31 trips per weekday, a couple less on weekends.

Amtrak's Hartford Line (including Valley Flyer) continues to grow and prosper. Through the first four mos. of FY '24(Oct.-Jan.) there were 203,800 passengers vs.146,400 in the previous year! Likely to shatter record number set last year and could exceed 600,000!

Today's Vermonter 57 approaching Northampton near King Street. Arrived right on schedule.

Busy March 1st at Northampton Amtrak Station. 51 folks boarded and 6 got off the Vermonter 55 today!

Vermonter 57 back on schedule today after two days off due to equipment issue. Spotted at Northampton 2:05pm.

On a busy Amtrak train to NYC! Right on schedule!

Beginning on Monday, Jan. 8, the Amtrak shuttle 453, which runs from Windsor Locks-New Haven each weekday morning at 6:15am, will be replaced by the CTrail 4401. Under Amtrak it has been frequently substituted by bus service, due to equipment shortages. Hopefully this will longer be the case.

The Amtrak Hartford Line and Valley Flyer services continue to grow! In the first two months of the current fiscal year(which began Oct. 1) 109,900 passengers used the lines, up from 74,000 in FY '23! That's a growth of 49% in one year!

It's official! Sunday service on the popular G73E express bus from Northampton to Springfield begins this Sunday, Christmas Eve! And new service has been added to this and several other PVTA lines!

41 riders on the G73E bus to Northampton! Wow 😲

Reminder that riding the PVTA is free now through the end of the year! Including the G73E express from Northampton to Springfield, which allows for connections to many Amtrak and CTrail trains.