Vermont Rail System

What Vermont Rail System does

Vermont Rail System (VRS) is a privately held, family-owned shortline railroad operator founded in 1963 by Jay L. Wulfson, operating over 400 miles of track across Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York through an affiliation of seven subsidiary shortlines: Vermont Railway (VTR), Green Mountain Railroad (GMRC), Clarendon and Pittsford Railroad (CLP), Washington County Railroad (WACR), New York and Ogdensburg Railway (NYOG), New England Southern Railroad (NEGS, acquired 2020), and New Hampshire Central Railroad (NHCR, acquired June 2024). The company's core business is freight rail transportation, moving more than 25,000 freight cars annually with approximately 90% of traffic originating or terminating in Vermont, serving industrial/manufacturing businesses and commodity shippers in salt, minerals, energy, forest products, agriculture, chemicals, and government materials. Core technical capabilities include 286,000# and 263,000# load capacity track, ability to ship over-dimension loads, the 360-foot Middlebury Tunnel completed in 2020, an M-1002/M-1003 certified freight car repair facility in North Walpole, NH (VRNN), and the RailConnect customer portal.

VRS generates revenue through multiple streams: freight rail transportation priced via published tariffs (VTR-4000 Grain, VTR-5000 Lumber, VRS-6004 Demurrage, VRS-7000 B Accessorial, Propane 9300) plus monthly fuel surcharges; the VRS Connect transloading, warehousing, and distribution network (Seaway Bulk Services, Riverside Reload Center, Shelburne Transload Facility, and affiliate members) that serves shippers without private rail sidings; third-party freight car repair and inspection services; passenger services including the seasonal Champlain Valley Dinner Train, private charters, and hosting of Amtrak's Ethan Allen Express service between Burlington and New York City. GTM is sales-led via direct B2B relationships, customer service agents at Burlington, Rutland, and Bellows Falls, and the RailConnect online portal. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and the company is owned and led by the Wulfson family, with David Wulfson as CEO, Selden Houghton as President, and Mary Anne Michaels as Executive Vice President and Treasurer.

Name

Vermont Rail System

Legal name

Vermont Rail System (operated by Vermont Railway, Inc., The Clarendon and Pittsford Railroad Company, Green Mountain Railroad Corporation, Washington County Railroad Company, New York & Ogdensburg Railway Company, Inc., New England Southern Railroad)

Website

https://vrs.us.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1963

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Vermont Rail System is a privately held, family-owned shortline railroad operator that runs 400+ miles of track across Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York through seven subsidiary railroads, providing freight rail transportation, transloading, certified car repair, and passenger services to industrial shippers and commodity producers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Shortline Freight Rail Services

NAICS

Short Line Railroads (482112), Rail Transportation (482), Support Activities for Rail Transportation (4882)

SIC

Railroads, Line-Haul Operating (4011), Railroad Switching & Terminal Establishments (4013), Railroad Equipment (3743)

akta.pro primary industry

Unit Train & Dedicated Contract Rail Services (TLADACAK)

Keywords

• Shortline freight rail
• Rail transloading services
• Freight car repair
• Rail freight logistics
• Dinner train excursions

Headquarters

HQ city

Burlington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Freight Rail Transportation: Core freight rail service revenue generated from shipping carloads of various commodities over VRS rail lines. Customers pay based on tariffs and fuel surcharges for rail transportation of freight including minerals, forest products, energy, metals, agriculture, chemicals, and government goods.
2. Passenger Services: Revenue from dinner train operations (Champlain Valley Dinner Train) and charter services including seasonal excursions, corporate events, weddings, and movie/commercial productions.
3. Car Repair Services: Freight car repair and inspection services provided to other railroads, private fleet owners, and leasing companies at their M-1002/M-1003 certified facility in North Walpole, NH
4. Transloading and Warehousing: VRS Connect network provides transloading, warehousing, and distribution services through affiliated facilities including Riverside Reload Center, Shelburne Transload Facility, and Seaway Bulk Services

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Vermont Rail System operates shortline freight rail transportation across 400+ miles of track in Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York through seven affiliated shortline railroads. It provides carload and unit train shipping, VRS Connect transloading and warehousing, M-1002/M-1003 certified freight car repair, the RailConnect customer portal, and passenger services including the Champlain Valley Dinner Train and charter trains.

Product overview

Vermont Rail System is a freight rail network comprising seven shortline railroads operating over 400 miles of track across Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York. The portfolio includes Vermont Railway (VTR), Green Mountain Railroad (GMRC), Clarendon & Pittsford Railroad (CLP), Washington County Railroad (WACR), New York & Ogdensburg Railway (NYOG), New England Southern Railroad (NEGS), and New Hampshire Central Railroad (NHCR). Core services center on freight rail transportation with 286,000# and 263,000# load capacity. Supporting services include VRS Connect transloading/warehousing network (Seaway Bulk Services, Riverside Reload Center, Shelburne Transload Facility, and affiliate members), freight car repair at M-1002/M-1003 certified shop in North Walpole NH, RailConnect customer portal for car ordering and delivery tracking, and passenger services hosting Amtrak's Ethan Allen Express and operating the seasonal Champlain Valley Dinner Train and charter services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Freight Rail Service Core freight rail transportation across 400+ miles of 286,000# and 263,000# load capacity track through seven shortline subdivisions in Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York, with single carload, unit train, and over-dimension load capabilities, online tracking, and daily interchanges with Class 1 carriers.
• VRS Connect

Quantifiable outcome

• Moves 25,000+ freight cars annually with 90% serving Vermont businesses
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• New England Central Railroad (NECR)coreTechnology or IntegrationDaily interchanges at Burlington, VT; Bellows Falls, VT; Montpelier Junction, VT; and White River Junction, VT. NECR provided detour routes during Middlebury Tunnel construction, allowing VRS trains to operate between Burlington and Bellows Falls.
• Pan Am Southern (PAS)coreTechnology or IntegrationInterchange partner at Hoosick Junction, NY. Provides connectivity to Pan Am Railways network and Norfolk Southern connections.
• Norfolk Southern (NS)coreTechnology or IntegrationClass 1 railroad connection providing national rail network access through Hoosick Junction, NY interchange.
• Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPRS)coreTechnology or IntegrationClass 1 railroad connection at Whitehall, NY and Newport, VT interchanges. Provides connectivity to Canadian rail network.
• CSXTcoreTechnology or IntegrationClass 1 railroad connections at Palmer, MA; Norwood, NY; and Hoosick Jct., NY interchanges.
• St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad (SLR)coreTechnology or IntegrationInterchange partner at Groveton, NH and North Stratford, NH. Connects with NHCR operations.
• Canadian National Railway (CN)coreTechnology or IntegrationInternational rail connection providing access to Canadian rail network through Vermont and New Hampshire interchanges.
• Seaway Bulk ServicescoreTechnology or IntegrationVRS Connect network member located in Port of Ogdensburg, NY. Offers bulk handling, distribution, 92 railcar spots, Haz-Mat handling, and connections to Class 1 railroads and International Bridge.
• Riverside Reload CentercoreTechnology or IntegrationVRS Connect network member in Bellows Falls, VT. Facility with 40 acres outdoor storage, 34,000 s/f indoor storage, 17 rail car spots, bulk propane transfer, and connections to CPRS, NECR, and PAS.
• Shelburne Transload FacilitycoreTechnology or IntegrationVRS Connect member in Shelburne, VT. Modern facility with over 40 rail to truck transload spots, truck scale, outdoor/indoor storage for salt, plastics, steel, stone, and bulk commodities.
• Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState agency partner for rail infrastructure. VTrans owns portions of VRS rail lines and partnered on Middlebury Tunnel project and Amtrak Ethan Allen Express service to Burlington.
• AmtrakcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVRS hosts Amtrak's Ethan Allen Express service connecting Burlington, VT to New York City. VRS built layover track and performed track upgrades to enable service.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/VermontRailSystem

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Vermont Rail System