WESTERN MASS. – On Aug. 30, 2019, Amtrak – in partnership with MassDOT – launched a new train service for Pioneer Valley residents called the Valley Flyer. It runs seven days a week traveling along the Knowledge Corridor, offering station stops in New Haven, CT, Springfield, Holyoke, Northampton and Greenfield.

Due to COVID-19, the Valley Flyer now runs on a modified schedule. Amtrak Public Relations Manager Jason Abrams said across Amtrak’s entire national network their numbers went down to three percent of their typical ridership in March of 2020, but now they are back up to about 20 to 25 percent capacity of ridership.

“We are limiting our bookings on all of our trains across our national network to allow for more physical distancing. Individuals traveling alone may use the seat next to them for personal belongings, while friends and family members will easily find seats together,” Abrams added.

“The way we record the Valley Flyer ridership is we group the Amtrak Hartford Line with the New Haven and Springfield Line together. In FY19 on all the train lines that were starting, we had to back 490,000 passengers to ride on those rides and in FY20 it was 271,000.”

The Amtrak Valley Flyer Service was established as a pilot service as the result of conversations with Commonwealth of Massachusetts officials. The pilot helps in evaluating the demand for additional intercity rail service in the Pioneer Valley. The service was initiated in September 2018 as an extension of the Amtrak Hartford Line providing service to Holyoke, Northampton and Greenfield stations.

“It’s a state-supported train; that means we work with our state partners at Massachusetts Department of Transportation," Abrams responded. “We partnered with MassDOT to offer the service along the Knowledge Corridor to help passengers travel from Western Mass. to New Haven, and also connect and go further south of the Northeast Corridor to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington or travel north up to Boston.”

He continued, “It’s a growing market, and we are seeing a lot of demand for train travel throughout the entire country. We saw that specifically for this region as residents were asking for it. We were able to work with MassDOT to bring this to the area so residents and travelers can experience train travel.”

MassDOT spokesperson Jacquelyn Goddard said due to the pandemic, travel – including rail ridership – is down significantly across the country. As a result, MassDOT has temporarily suspended the evaluation of the Valley Flyer pilot and the pilot’s one daily round trip.  However, she explained they were pleased with how the service was performing prior to the onset of the pandemic.

"Service adjustments will be made in the months ahead in conversation with the state’s partner, Amtrak and in keeping with ridership trends,” Goddard said. “Travel decisions by the public will, in part, coincide with how many residents are vaccinated and then how decisions are made on a number of factors, including commuting to work and school and opportunities for leisure travel.”

This year, Abrams said their expectation is to get to return Amtrak ridership across the country to as high as 40 percent. They will continue to offer service as it relates to demand, and have health safety measures and cleaning measures in place.

For information on service, go to www.amtrak.com/valley-flyer-train or use the Amtrak app where interested parties can view schedules and book tickets.