The New England Central Railroad main line runs from New London, Connecticut, to Alburgh, Vermont, at the Canada–US border, a distance of 366 miles (589 km).

The Central Vermont's owners kept it a separate company, complete with its own fleet of green and yellow painted locomotives.

[2] Operations on the line entered a general decline in the 1980s in tandem with falling freight volumes, which persisted despite the introduction of modern locomotives by CN in the early 1990s.

[2] The new railroad was marked by improved service compared to the old Central Vermont, as well as more flexible crew arrangements, both of which led to a resurgence of the line.

[6] The company's rapid success led to it being named 1995's Short Line Railroad of the Year by industry trade journal Railway Age.

The railroad was commended by a local newspaper for "an aggressive effort to bring rail and shipping business through New London.

Construction was funded by a $70 million grant from the federal government, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

[13][14] The 45 railroads formerly owned by RailAmerica, which had previously taken over RailTex lines, were transferred to Connecticut-based shortline holding company Genesee & Wyoming in December 2012.

[2] Genesee & Wyoming subsequently purchased the Providence and Worcester Railroad, which interchanges freight with the New England Central, in 2016.

[15] New England Central's main line connects the Long Island Sound port of New London, Connecticut, to the Canadian border in East Alburgh, Vermont.

[2] Local trains are based in St. Albans, White River Junction, and Palmer, serving customers in those areas or performing switching at NECR yards.

[2] The railroad's traffic consists largely of general freight, including lumber products, metals, chemicals and stone products,[16][17] although COFC (container on flat car) and TOFC (trailer on flat car) business is also operated from the Canada–US border to Boston, in partnership with the Providence and Worcester Railroad.

After RailAmerica took ownership of the NECR, a number of GP40-2L locomotives (the L indicating a wide Canadian safety cab) were added to the fleet, plus two SD9s of Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway heritage.