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Work will get under way in March on a new train station for Brattleboro, Vt., and include the first elevated passenger platform in the state, according to Jen Flanagan, an Amtrak public relations specialist.

Enfield Enterprises LLC, headquartered in Springfield, Mass., has been hired to perform the construction, which is expected to take 18 months to complete.

The Commons, an independent Brattleboro online news site, reported Jan. 10 that the new Amtrak station plan was approved by the city's Development Review Board in December 2020 and administratively renewed through December 2023.

The Selectboard, on behalf of the town, voted unanimously to allow Amtrak to use a portion of the Depot Street parking lot to build the new station and platform.

At that time, Selectboard Chair Ian Goodnow said the easement would mean losing about 10 parking spaces but noted the loss had been anticipated since the project was proposed in 2017. New spaces have since been added to ease the parking situation.

In addition to the easement from the town, Amtrak has had to negotiate a lease with track owner New England Central Railroad and work with the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans), the State Historic Preservation offices of the National Park Service and Green Mountain Power.

The new station on the east side of the railroad tracks will include a 36-seat waiting area, restrooms, an engineers' room and a covered outdoor area with bench seating.

Additionally, the contractor will rebuild existing siding track and switches as well as construct a new, 345-ft.-long platform set 48 in. above the rail, a feature that will allow level boarding.

Other components planned for the Brattleboro station include an electric snow-melting system and new lighting, signage and drainage.

The construction cost for the full station project has been estimated at $7.4 million, according to The Commons. Amtrak has so far spent $1.7 million on track work and $1 million on design, meaning the total project cost will be $10 million by the time it is completed, Flanagan told the Brattleboro news source.

It also is expected that a new bike shelter with e-bike chargers will be installed in a covered area along with a fast charger for electric vehicles in the parking lot — all of which is to be paid for with money from the federal Inflation Reduction Act and the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

The law authorizes $1.2 trillion for transportation and infrastructure spending with $550 billion to go to new investments and programs. Money from the IIJA addresses energy and power infrastructure, access to broadband Internet, water infrastructure, and more. Some new programs paid for by the bill could provide resources needed to address a variety of local-level infrastructure needs.

Currently, Amtrak uses the basement of the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center as its Brattleboro station. The space that now serves as the waiting room was once the baggage storage area when the building was a dedicated train depot from its opening in 1916 until its closure in 1967.

According to data from the Rail Passengers Association, Brattleboro is Vermont's second busiest station on Amtrak's Vermonter route, which runs between Washington, D.C., and St. Albans in northern Vermont. In 2022, a total of 14,258 riders boarded or departed from Amtrak trains in Brattleboro

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