Valley Flyer

This article is about the Amtrak train. For the ATSF train, see Valley Flyer (ATSF train).

The Valley Flyer is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between New Haven, Connecticut and Greenfield, Massachusetts along Amtrak's New Haven–Springfield Line and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation's (MassDOT's) Connecticut River Line.

Valley Flyer

The Valley Flyer at Springfield in 2020
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Status	Operating
Locale	Connecticut and Massachusetts
First service	August 30, 2019
Current operator(s)	Amtrak in partnership with CTDOT and MassDOT
Route
Termini	New Haven, Connecticut Greenfield, Massachusetts
Stops	12
Distance travelled	102 miles (164 km)
Average journey time	2 hours, 42-48 minutes[1]
Service frequency	2 daily round trips
Train number(s)	400, 461, 471, 479, 486, 488, 494, 499
On-board services
Class(es)	Coach
Technical
Rolling stock	GE Genesis locomotives, Amfleet coach cars and Ex-Metroliner cab cars
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Operating speed	Up to 110 mph (180 km/h) (New Haven–Springfield)[2] Up to 79 mph (127 km/h) (Springfield–Greenfield)
Track owner(s)	Amtrak & MassDOT
Route map Legend Vermonter to St. Albans 102 mi 164 km Greenfield 83 mi 134 km Northampton 72 mi 116 km Holyoke Lake Shore Limited Chicago │ Boston 62 mi 100 km Springfield MA CT 47 mi 76 km Windsor Locks 43 mi 69 km Windsor 37 mi 60 km Hartford 26 mi 42 km Berlin 19 mi 31 km Meriden 13 mi 21 km Wallingford Northeast Corridor to Boston 1 mi 2 km New Haven State Street 0 mi New Haven Union Station Northeast Corridor to New York This diagram: view talk edit

Valley 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 the Amtrak 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.

History

On June 12, 2018, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced that two daily round trip Amtrak 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

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

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]

Stations

State	Milepost (km)[15]	Location	Station[16]	Connections[17][16][18][19]
Massachusetts	102 mi (164 km)	Greenfield	John W. Olver Transit Center	Amtrak: Vermonter FRTA: 20, 21, 24, 31, 32, 41 Greyhound Lines
	83 mi (134 km)	Northampton	Northampton Union Station	Amtrak: Vermonter PVTA: B48, G73E, R41
	72 mi (116 km)	Holyoke	Holyoke	Amtrak: Vermonter PVTA: R24, R29, T24, X90
	62 mi (100 km)	Springfield	Springfield Union Station	Amtrak: Lake Shore Limited, Northeast Regional, Vermonter, Amtrak Hartford Line CTrail: Hartford Line PVTA: B4, B6, B7, B7S, B12, B17, G1, G2, G2E, G3, P20, P20E, P21, P21E, R10, R14, X92, LOOP Greyhound Lines, Peter Pan Bus Lines
Connecticut	47.4 mi (76.3 km)	Windsor Locks	Windsor Locks	Amtrak: Northeast Regional, Vermonter, Hartford Line CTrail: Hartford Line
	42.9 mi (69.0 km)	Windsor	Windsor	Amtrak: Northeast Regional, Hartford Line CTrail: Hartford Line
	36.7 mi (59.1 km)	Hartford	Hartford Union Station	Amtrak: Northeast Regional, Vermonter, Hartford Line CTrail: Hartford Line CTfastrak
	26.1 mi (42.0 km)	Berlin	Berlin	Amtrak: Northeast Regional, Hartford Line CTrail: Hartford Line
	18.7 mi (30.1 km)	Meriden	Meriden Transit Center	Amtrak: Northeast Regional, Vermonter, Hartford Line CTrail: Hartford Line
	13.0 mi (20.9 km)	Wallingford	Wallingford	Amtrak: Northeast Regional, Hartford Line CTrail: Hartford Line
	0.6 mi (0.97 km)	New Haven	New Haven State Street	Amtrak: Northeast Regional, Hartford Line CTrail: Hartford Line, Shore Line East Metro-North Railroad: ■ New Haven Line
	0 mi (0 km)		New Haven Union Station	Amtrak: Acela, Hartford Line, Northeast Regional, Vermonter CTrail: Hartford Line, Shore Line East Metro-North Railroad: ■ New Haven Line Local bus: CTtransit New Haven Intercity bus: Greyhound, Peter Pan