And, Amtrak is setting new ridership records, nationwide and in Vermont.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will join Vermont's top politicians at the Amtrak Train Station in Brattleboro Friday morning.

State and federal lawmakers from Massachusetts are making plans to restore passenger rail service along the Connecticut River valley, on a line that runs from northern Vermont to Washington D.C.

Solving cross-border travel problems is on the to-do list for New England governors and eastern Canadian premiers. And the leaders meeting in Burlington this week say they're making progress to restore passenger rail service to Montreal.

A study group has recommended how passenger rail service could be established between southwestern Vermont and New York's capital region. Next week, the public will have a chance to comment on the proposals at hearings in both states.

Vermont hopes to re-establish service to Montreal within three years. Part of the challenge is finding a way to screen people crossing the border.  

Vermont rail enthusiasts have been pushing for more passenger trains for years. Thanks to a grant from the Federal Railroad Administration, the state may be getting closer to seeing that happen. Transportation officials from New York and Vermont are looking at ways to create a new passenger service along existing rail lines in southwestern Vermont and east central New York. Comments: Should New York and Vermont expand service?  

The prospect of a new passenger rail service linking Bennington and Manchester to Albany gets a warm reception at a public meeting in Mechanicville, New York, as state transportation officials in Vermont and New York consider a passenger train that would connect the towns.

Top Vermont officials are urging the federal to divert one billion dollars to the Northeast to pay for expanded and improved passenger rail service.

The deputy chief of the Federal Railroad Administration was in Rutland Monday to listen to Vermonters' pleas for better rail service in the western part of the state. A project backed by Vermont and New York State is competing for funds to extend Amtrak's Ethan Allen passenger train to Burlington. It currently runs from New York City into Rutland.

State officials are pleased that the rail line between St. Albans and Vernon is getting another $2.7 million in stimulus money. But they had hoped the money would be awarded to the state's Western Corridor project.

Transportation officials say the state's $50 million federal stimulus award for rail improvements, coupled with related work in Connecticut and Massachusetts could shave an hour-and-a-half off the trip from St. Albans to New York.

A $50 million federal investment in Vermont should shave 90 minutes off a train trip to New York. But hope for a broader revival of passenger rail on the western side of the state won't happen for now.

Vermont transportation officials should learn within the next few months whether they will receive a $73 million federal grant that could help expand passenger rail service from Rutland to Burlington.

Officials say one of the passenger trains serving Vermont should get to New York an hour faster, if New England wins federal grants. They also want to re-establish passenger rail service between Burlington and New York and begin to restore the rail line that once connected Montreal and Boston.

President Obama has pledged $8 billion of stimulus money to upgrade high speed inter-city rail service. States will compete with each other for the money. But because rail service ties communities together, some rail advocates in this region are calling for a multi-state approach.

State transportation officials are working on an application for more than $100 million in federal stimulus funds to improve rail service in Vermont.