The Central Corridor Rail Line is a proposed passenger service route between New London, Connecticut, and Brattleboro, Vermont. A primary purpose of the proposed service is to provide a rail link between 13 colleges and universities (including the state flagship schools UConn, UMass Amherst, and UVM) as part of the Knowledge Corridor. Preparing the line for passenger service would require refurbishing the New England Central Railroad tracks, which also carry freight to New London's deepwater port. The northernmost section, in Vermont, has been upgraded to continuously welded rail via a $50 million ARRA grant. New England Central estimates that similar upgrades (which include upgrading the track to standard 286,000 pound car loads) from the Massachusetts / Vermont border to New London would cost $18 million, while the full project including stations and rolling stock would cost $150 million. History Previous service The New London, Willimantic, and Palmer Railroad opened from New London, Connecticut, to Palmer, Massachusetts, in September 1850. It was extended to Amherst in May 1853 by the NLW&P-leased Amherst and Belchertown Railroad, which failed and was reorganized as the Amherst, Belchertown and Palmer in 1858. The New London Northern Railroad acquired the NLW&P (which had failed in 1859) in 1861, and the AB&P in 1864. In 1867, it extended the line north to Millers Falls. In 1870, the Rutland Railroad leased an 1849-built Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad line from Millers Falls to Brattleboro, Vermont. Originally the V&M mainline, it became a minor branch when the V&M decided to expand west through the Hoosac Tunnel instead. Soon after, the Rutland was taken over by the Vermont Central Railroad, which then leased the NLN in December 1871. The VC collapsed in 1873 and was taken over by the Central Vermont Railway, which continued to lease the NLN. The Central Vermont became part of the Grand Trunk Railway in 1899, which in turn was nationalized by the Canadian government in 1922. Passenger service on the line ended on September 27, 1947. The line was sold to RailTex in 1995 and operated as the New England Central Railroad. RailTex was merged into RailAmerica in 2000, which in turn was acquired by the Genesee & Wyoming company in 2012. Montrealer and Vermonter From its reinstatement in 1989, the overnight Montrealer (the direct predecessor of the Vermonter) ran along the Central Vermont from New London to Brattleboro and beyond. Amherst was at first the