Construction work continues on the railroad trestle bridge across Lake Champlain between Swanton and Alburgh on Monday, August 17, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger Long-stalled plans to restart the Amtrak connection between Vermont and Montreal are getting a boost from the federal governmen t. The U.S. Department of Transportation on Friday announced a $4 million grant to plan out repairing, or possibly replacing, an ailing bridge that carries the cross-border rail route over Lake Champlain. Funding for the project was originally set out in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a sweeping 2021 federal law. The East Alburgh Bridge is well over a century old, according to the Transportation Department, and its poor condition means trains can only traverse it as fast as 5 mph, too slow for efficient passenger service. Funds are being directed to the Northwest Regional Planning Commission, which oversees development in Franklin and Grand Isle counties. “Having that Canadian connection would be just one more enticement to bring our Canadian visitors back,” said Catherine Dimitruk, executive director of the regional planning commission. The trestle bridge parallels Route 78 between Alburgh and Swanton and is owned by the New England Central Railroad, a freight rail company. It’s a key link along the route that carried Amtrak trains between Washington, D.C., and Montreal from 1972 to 1995. At that point, Amtrak shortened the “Montrealer” to run only as far north as St. Albans during a push to cut the train operator’s costs. Today, that route is known as Amtrak’s Vermonter. In the decades since, passenger rail advocates have pushed for the Quebec link to be restarted, saying it would be an economic boon for the region. The effort has taken on renewed importance today with so many Canadians choosing to spurn the U.S. over President Donald Trump’s tariffs and disparaging rhetoric, Dimitruk said.  Vermont’s award is a slice of $5.3 billion in funding for rail projects that the Transportation Department announced last week, about $2 billion of which it said came from clawing back money for a high-speed rail project in California that has faced significant cost overruns and delays. While the money is earmarked for planning work in Vermont, it will not actually fund any construction, Dimitruk said. To be sure, upgrading the East Alburgh Bridge is not the only hurdle left to clear before service to Montreal could resume. More track upgrades are needed on the Canadian side of the border, said Carl Fowler, a longtime member of the Vermont Rail Advisory Council. By far the biggest challenge, though, is the need to construct a facility at Montreal Central Station to allow customs officials to screen passengers traveling between the countries. U.S. and Canadian officials have long said restarting the Montreal-Vermont link hinges on this preclearance facility. That project remains in the planning phase, with a Canadian official telling the Saint Albans Messenger in April that more studies are needed before it can advance. Read the story on VTDigger here: New funds for Alburgh rail bridge could boost future Amtrak link to Montreal. ...read more read less