Planning Division

Property Management Section

The property Management Section oversees the temporary and permanent occupations of the state-owned right of way including utilities, municipalities, and abutting land owners. On a daily basis, we deal with unauthorized crossings and occupations. We create and maintain new/existing Leases, Private Crossings, License Agreements, and Master License Agreements. Currently we handle 450 miles that have four “active” railroads and four “railbanked” lines. The State of Vermont currently owns the following:

Active Railroads:

Green Mountain Railroad runs from Rockingham (Bellow Falls) to Rutland Town – 50.02 miles

Vermont Railway, Inc. runs from Bennington to Burlington – 139.75 miles

Washington County Railroad runs from Montpelier to Barre Town – 13.10 miles

Washington County Railroad (Connecticut River Line) runs from Newport to Ryegate and Newbury to Hartford – 102.18 miles


Railbanked Lines:

Beebe Spur Rail Trail (Former Canadian Pacific Railroad) runs in the Town of Derby – 4.05 miles

Delaware & Hudson Rail Trail runs from Rupert to Castleton – 19.74 miles

Lamoille Valley Rail Trail (formerly St. Johnsbury & Lake Champlain Railroad) runs from St. Johnsbury to Swanton – 97.68 miles

Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail (Former Richford Subdivision of Central Vermont Railway, Inc.) runs from St. Albans to Richford – 26.80 miles


In addition to the 450 miles, there are 295.32 miles of privately-owned railroads. Please see the Railroad Network Map for further details. Property Management can charge fair market value when entering into agreements per the following statute:
Statute 19 V.S.A. § 26a

With respect to municipally owned facilities, VTrans’ longstanding practice is not to charge with respect to facilities operated by the municipality in its “governmental” capacity (for example, highway storm drains or wires for fire alarm boxes), but to charge for facilities operated by the municipality in its “proprietary” capacity (for example, electric and water utilities). This, in effect, treats both municipal and investor-owned utilities alike.

Property Management Section also oversees the 10 state airports which include state-owned buildings and land. The State of Vermont currently owns the following:

Airports:

William H. Morse State Airport in Bennington
Caledonia County State Airport in Lyndonville
E.F. Knapp State Airport in Berlin
Franklin County State Airport in Highgate
Hartness State Airport in Springfield
John H. Boylan State Airport in Island Pond
Middlebury State Airport in Middlebury
Morrisville-Stowe State Airport in Morrisville
Newport State Airport in Newport
Rutland Southern Vermont Regional Airport in Rutland

There are several privately-owned airports located all over the State of Vermont. Please refer to the Aviation website for more information. The link to the Aviation Website can be found on the left sidebar.