mtuandrew wrote: ↑Fri Jan 10, 2020 6:49 pm1) I bet that you’d find a good number of Vermonter riders going from Connecticut to Vermont, who would switch from train to car if you rerouted it to Boston. Same with folks coming from NJ and points southeast.
Indeed. A big part of why it's such an odd mid-day timing for NY, CT, and MA is that it actually originates in DC. I'd love an evening train, but that would really be a late night train in DC.
Given quite high usage levels for one train per day having another train north that originated in Boston and met an NHV-SPG shuttle at some other point in the day, or having a Boston to Springfield that met the Vermonter would both be good ideas, but don't think you're going to see a lot of the present ridership happy about diverting the present one.
Having several Boston to Springfield trains one of which met the Vermonter in each direction would be the first step.