Vermont Rail System utilizes trackage rights to retrieve interchange and or haulage traffic from the NECR from a siding in North Walpole, NH. If the interchange volume is high enough, in this case, 30 cars, the VRS makes a not-so-regular run through the tunnel. On November 21, one of the newly branded Vermont Rail System locomotives, VTR GP38-2 202, leads that 30-car cut through the tunnel. The tunnel, originally constructed in 1851, is 278 feet long, extending from the north side of Mill Street to within 157 feet of the Bellows Falls Canal Bridge. In August 2007, the vertical clearance of the tunnel was raised to 20 ft. 8 in. by lowering the floor level. This move allowed for the passage of higher capacity rail cars and added thousands of possible railcar moves to the State of Vermont.
