Okemo ValleyPassenger Rail Alliance
Ride the train today

Can you get to the Okemo Resort, Chester, Ludlow and area towns by train?

Yes, with one more leg at the end. Amtrak's Ethan Allen Express from New York City stops in Rutland, 25 miles from Ludlow and Okemo. Amtrak's Vermonter from Washington and New York stops in Bellows Falls, 13 miles from Chester, with Brattleboro and Claremont, New Hampshire, as its neighboring stops. From any of these stations you need a taxi, ride-share or rental car, and this page tells you what exists today, with the date we last checked it.

Last checked: Next check: before each excursion train, and whenever Amtrak changes a timetable Something wrong? Email info@ovpralliance.com and we will fix it the same day.

From New York City, the Hudson Valley and Albany — the Ethan Allen Express to Rutland

The train

One Ethan Allen Express a day in each direction between New York Penn Station and Burlington, calling at Rutland. The northbound arrives in Rutland at 7:46 pm and the southbound leaves Rutland at 11:45 am, daily. About five and a half hours from New York. Book at amtrak.com.

Taxi or ride-share

On-demand ride-share in Vermont outside the Burlington area is spotty at best. Pickups from the James M. Jeffords Amtrak Station, 25 Evelyn Street, Rutland, should be reserved in advance. You can try booking Uber or Lyft ahead of time; the local operators are:

Rental car

Rental cars also need to be reserved in advance.

Arrive by day instead, by way of Albany. Amtrak Empire Service train 281 reaches the Albany–Rensselaer station at 12:50 pm, where Amtrak Thruway bus 6281 connects to the Marble Valley Transit Center at 102 West Street in Rutland (not the train station) at 3:24 pm. One Amtrak ticket covers the train and the bus. Because this puts both your arrival in Rutland and your departure during business hours, you have the pick of three rental companies:

From Washington, Philadelphia, New York, New Haven and Springfield — the Vermonter to Brattleboro, Bellows Falls or Claremont

The train

One Vermonter a day in each direction between Washington and St. Albans. Northbound it arrives in Brattleboro at 4:56 pm, Bellows Falls at 5:26 pm and Claremont, New Hampshire, at 5:47 pm. Southbound it leaves Claremont at 12:06 pm, Bellows Falls at 12:30 pm and Brattleboro at 1:02 pm. Book at amtrak.com.

Taxi or ride-share

On-demand ride-share in the upper Connecticut River valley is spotty at best, so pickups should be reserved in advance. You can try booking Uber or Lyft ahead of time, but for Ludlow and Okemo your best option may be to ride one stop farther, to the Claremont Amtrak Station at 4 Plains Road (Plains Road and Maple Avenue), Claremont, NH 03743, arriving at 5:47 pm, and use:

Or get off at Bellows Falls, arriving 5:26 pm
Or get off at Brattleboro, arriving 4:56 pm
Rental car

Rental cars also need to be reserved in advance, and on this side of the valley there is one option:

From Boston — change at Springfield

Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited passes through Springfield from Boston, but it does not connect with the Vermonter. To make the connection, take a Peter Pan bus from Boston South Station at 11:25 am, arriving at Springfield Union Station (the train station) at 1:30 pm, and catch the northbound Vermonter there at 3:15 pm.

Coming home, the southbound Vermonter reaches Springfield at 2:35 pm. You could wait for the eastbound Lake Shore Limited at 6:04 pm, arriving at South Station at 8:32 pm, but it is simpler to take the 3:40 pm Peter Pan bus, back at South Station by 5:45 pm. Not ideal, but it can be done.

From Montreal

Not yet. The Vermonter's extension to Montreal is stalled on the Canadian side, and the Ethan Allen ends at Burlington. Upgrading or replacing the Alburgh rail bridge across Lake Champlain is one of the hurdles left in the way of restoring cross-border passenger rail in Vermont. On August 28, 2026 the Federal Railroad Administration awarded a $4 million grant to support planning and find a long-term solution for the 112-year-old bridge. We will keep you posted.

Once you are here

In winter, Okemo runs guest shuttle routes between local lodging and the mountain. For this season's shuttle bus routes and times see okemo.com → Getting Here & Parking → Transportation & Shuttles. Ludlow's village is walkable, with groceries, gear and restaurants along Main Street. In Chester, the Depot village and the village green are about a mile apart.

Chester is a quaint New England town with a population of 3,000 that offers great restaurants, inns, comfortable B&Bs, and interesting shops and art galleries. To download the brochures "Take a Walk Along Main Street in Historic Chester Village" and "Take a Walk Through Chester Depot to the Historic Stone Village" see chestervt.gov → Community → Chester Townscape. And while you are at it, check out the Vermont Inn-to-Inn Self-Guided Walking Tours.

Skiers: Amtrak lets you bring skis, snowboards and boots for free as carry-on gear. Gear must be in a full-length protective cover (vinyl, cloth, nylon or a hard-sided case), and each set must weigh no more than 50 pounds and stand no more than 72 inches tall. Details at amtrak.com.

Riding an excursion train? The 2026 Foliage Train, Santa Express and Holiday Express dates, departure points and ticket links are on the home page.

A green highway sign in Chester: Rockingham 9 and Bellows Falls 13 to the left; Magic Mountain ski area 12, Manchester 31 and Rutland 39 to the right.
Chester's own signpost makes the case: Bellows Falls 13 miles one way, Rutland 39 the other, and an Amtrak station at each. Photo: Carl Henshaw.
The Rutland Amtrak station: a brick depot with a green metal roof and RUTLAND sign over the platform canopy, tracks and a yellow tactile platform edge in the foreground.
The Amtrak platform at Rutland, western end of the Okemo Valley line and 25 miles from the mountain. Photo courtesy of the Chamber & Economic Development of the Rutland Region (CEDRR).
Passengers with luggage gather on the Bellows Falls platform beside a stainless-steel Amtrak coach, with the crossing signals, the old station house and the steel bridge behind them.
The Vermonter at Bellows Falls in 2024. Big changes are coming for the platform and station house. Photo: Preston Bristow.
An Amtrak train rounding a curve through brilliant orange and green fall foliage.
The Ethan Allen Express in the foliage. Amtrak media image.

Three ways to do it

Sketches, not schedules. The train times are Amtrak's as of September 2026; check amtrak.com before you book, and reserve every ride in advance.

A ski weekend by train

  1. Friday: Ethan Allen Express from New York, into Rutland at 7:46 pm.
  2. A pre-booked taxi to Ludlow, about 35 minutes; or a rental car, with the after-hours pickup.
  3. Saturday and Sunday: Okemo. Lodging shuttles to the mountain in the morning; the village after.
  4. Monday: back to Rutland for the 11:45 am southbound.

A foliage weekend in Chester

  1. Friday: Vermonter northbound, into Bellows Falls at 5:26 pm; a pre-booked ride 13 miles to Chester.
  2. Saturday: the Okemo Valley Foliage Train from Ludlow, October 3 or 4 (tickets from the Chamber); then the Depot village and the green in Chester.
  3. Sunday: the 12:30 pm southbound Vermonter from Bellows Falls, or a second day in the valley.

A Holiday Express weekend

  1. Friday, December 18: Vermonter to Bellows Falls, arriving 5:26 pm; a pre-booked ride to Chester; stay in the village.
  2. Saturday, December 19: the Okemo Valley Holiday Express from Chester Depot. Tickets from the Chamber.
  3. Sunday: the 12:30 pm southbound from Bellows Falls, or a second day in the valley.

Questions people ask

Is there a train station in Ludlow?

Not one with scheduled trains. The original Rutland Railroad depot still stands at the far end of the village from Okemo, but no scheduled passenger train stops there; the Chamber's Foliage Train boards at the Blue Lot on Witalec Road. The nearest Amtrak stations are Rutland, 25 miles away, and Bellows Falls, about 27.

Can I take a train to Chester?

Not on a schedule. Chester Depot is a working station on a freight line, and a few days a year, for the Holiday Express, passenger trains leave from it. The nearest Amtrak station is Bellows Falls, 13 miles away.

How far is Okemo from the Rutland Amtrak station?

Twenty-five miles, about 35 minutes by road. In ski season The Bus (Marble Valley Regional Transit) runs between Rutland and Ludlow for $3.00, but its day ends at 7:24 pm and the northbound train arrives at 7:46 pm, so it cannot meet the train. Reserve a taxi or a rental car in advance; the operators are listed above.

Is there a bus from Bellows Falls to Chester or Ludlow?

There is a bus from Bellows Falls to Ludlow, with a stop at Chester, operated by the MOOver (route 57), and it is free. But it does not pick up at the Bellows Falls train station (its only stop there is the last drop-off of the day, at 6:27 pm), and its times do not jibe with the Vermonter: on weekdays it leaves Bellows Falls at 6:20 am and 3:20 pm and starts back from Okemo at 7:55 am and 4:55 pm, while the train arrives at 5:26 pm and leaves at 12:30 pm. This is a missed opportunity we seek to change. Until then, reserve a ride in advance with one of the operators listed above, or ride one stop farther to Claremont, where Best Taxi serves Ludlow and Okemo.

Will there be a train through the valley?

Not soon, and we will not pretend otherwise. The corridor entered Vermont's 2025 State Rail Plan through public comment, which is a foothold, not a commitment. Groups like ours elsewhere took a decade or more. What we can do sooner is make the last miles easy. The plan explains the steps.

Did you ride? Tell us how it went.

Every trip report makes this page more accurate, and every one is evidence that people will come by train.

What we are working to change

A bus that meets the train at Rutland and at Bellows Falls, every day it runs. A connection you can book with your Amtrak ticket. And, in time, the train itself. Each step is on the plan, with its honest status. If you want any of it to happen faster, add your name.