A family holiday adventure that brings the magical story to life!
2026 trains will run December 5th and 6th.
THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride adventure begins in the Wing Building lobby at the bottom of King Street, (just South of Union Station), in Burlington, Vermont. Engineers welcome families into the south entrance of the Wing Building where they’ll await their train. Passengers are encouraged to wear pajamas. Conductors greet passengers as they board the train from the Wing Building in Burlington for their ride to the 'North Pole' (Union Station). The ride is about 20 minutes. During the ride, hot cocoa and cookies are served by chefs, while conductors lead a Christmas carol sing along.
Upon reaching the 'North Pole', children leave the train, passing through a sea of elves, as they enter Union Station. The Polar Express story is read aloud, as artwork from the book follows the page turns on a big screen. Once the story is finished, the reader shakes his sleigh bell and we, too, hear “the most beautiful sound we have ever heard.”
The chime grows and grows until we realize it is coming from behind the crowd. Santa appears and invites children to join him on the upper level of Union Station. Santa gives each child a bell from his sleigh as passengers exit the building. Everyone should walk down Battery Street to return to their cars to avoid running into children who are passengers on the next train.
The entire trip takes approximately one hour and 15 minutes including the boarding time of 15 minutes. This is a handicap accessible event. Please email Special Services by December 1st to let us know upon which train you are riding. Here are the details on handicap parking. Children with food allergies should bring their own cocoa and cookies.
All proceeds from this event benefit VCTF.
Ticketing Opportunities for THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride
Corporate Support
Shining Star, Gold and Silver support
Our Shining Star ($10,000), Gold ($5,000) and Silver ($2,500) supporters are the engine that power our event. These lead supporters are promoted throughout the event and are provided with complimentary tickets, access to purchase additional tickets and VCTF will donate tickets in your name to local children’s organizations.
Click HERE to review benefits at these levels of support.
To make your corporate gift, click here.
Other ways to get tickets
We are grateful for all of the families that have supported the Vermont Children’s Trust Foundation throughout the years as attendees of our Polar Express event. As many of you know, the Polar Express is our main fundraiser- enabling VCTF to support important prevention programs for children across Vermont. We hope that you will take a moment to read about the programs that you help to support here!
The demand for Polar Express tickets has grown exponentially over the past few years and in an effort to provide greater access to tickets for everyone, we will continue to evolve our ticketing process to reach as many families as possible. Most significantly, we are reserving hundreds of tickets to be sold to the general public with the hope that families who have not been able to ride in the past, will have an opportunity to do so. We expect the demand for these tickets to be greater than the allotment and will select names randomly from those who express an interest.
2026 POLAR EXPRESS DATES: DECEMBER 5th and 6th, 2026
- 2026 Polar Express tickets are $40 per person.
- There is a limit of five tickets per order.
- Children under 2, sitting in a lap do not need a ticket.
Those who donate $250 or more to VCTF are our most generous supporters. These Bell Ringer Family Sponsors will be acknowledged in our Song Book and will have the first opportunity to purchase tickets. Ticketing will open in mid-July for these donors. To make your Bell Ringer donation, click here.
Over 700 tickets will be made available without donation to the general public. We will randomly select individuals from a list of those interested and provide a window of time to purchase tickets. If you wish to be placed on this list, please click here. Ticketing will open for these families in September.
Volunteers: This event is not possible without the 700+ volunteers who help to bring the magic of the North Pole to Burlington, Vermont. Volunteer registration will open in August, 2026 and remain open through mid- September. All that sign up prior to the volunteer sign up deadline will be afforded an opportunity to purchase tickets.
*** You will receive further updates and a link to purchase tickets via email. Please do not unsubscribe or you may miss your opportunity to purchase tickets!
Donated tickets: Through our sponsors and generous donors, we are able to donate hundreds of tickets to organizations serving children in Vermont. Thank you!
Volunteer Opportunities
Thank you for considering volunteering at the Polar Express! Each December, we rely on the spirit of hundreds of volunteers to bring our magical journey alive for over 3,600 passengers who visit our ‘North Pole.’
Volunteer registration will open in mid-August and volunteers will have the opportunity to purchase up to 5 tickets between August 15th and September 15th for a train time that does not overlap with your volunteer time slot. We are unable to guarantee access to tickets for volunteers who register after September 15th.
This year's event will be held on December 5 & 6, 2026. Volunteer shifts are approximately 4 hours, and shift times vary depending on the role - the first shifts are late morning to afternoon and the second shifts are afternoon-evening. Pick the volunteer position which best suits you. The shift times are specified on the registration forms. For more details, read on!
1. BE AN ELF:
We need hundreds of elves to welcome passengers as they pull into the station (North Pole). Our horde of elves form a receiving line OUTSIDE the station entrance, reaching from the first train car to the last train car, stretching as it narrows to the entrance of the station. We encourage you to hoot, holler, shout, clap, make noise and show wild enthusiasm when the train arrives! As the families and children walk by, kneel down and whisper Merry Christmas and be sure to use the names of the smallest children (each child will be wearing a name tag).
Elf shifts are available on Saturday and Sunday December 6th and 7th at the following times:
Saturday, 12/5/26, 11:30am - 4:00pm
Saturday, 12/5/26, 3:30pm - 8:00pm
Sunday, 12/6/26, 11:30am - 4:00pm
Sunday, 12/6/26, 3:30pm - 8:00pm
Organizations and Student Groups: We welcome school and corporate groups that wish to volunteer as elves together! You will use a separate registration form to sign up as a group. If you have any questions, please contact Theo Clark at theo@vtchildrenstrust.org.
2. BE AN ENGINEER:
Engineers inside the Wing building welcome families, write name tags, hand out golden tickets to the children, entertain children, collect books for Santa’s sack and send passengers on their way to the North Pole.
Engineers outside the Wing building are the gateway to adventure; it is your mission to greet passengers arriving on the bike path, ringing the bell that welcomes them to the entrance of the Wing building. You will be outside for this role, and will want to dress warmly!
Engineer shifts are available on Saturday and Sunday December 6th and 7th at the following times:
Saturday, 12/5/26, 10:45am - 3:00pm
Saturday, 12/5/26, 2:45pm - 7:00pm
Sunday, 12/6/26, 10:45am - 3:00pm
Sunday, 12/6/26, 2:45pm - 7:30pm (includes help with cleanup)
3. WORK BEHIND THE SCENES:
We have several opportunities to volunteer behind the scenes. You can help set up and decorate the station during the week prior to the event. During the event, you may sign up to help with parking or can help to clean up after the last train on Sunday or on Monday morning.
Monday 11/30/2026 Decorating Crew, 10am-2pm
Tuesday 12/1/2026 Decorating Crew, 11am-3pm
Wednesday 12/2/2026 Decorating Crew, 10am-2pm
Sunday 12/6/2026 Cleanup Crew, 7:15pm-10pm
Monday 12/7/2026 Cleanup Crew, 9:30am-1:30pm
If you have questions about volunteering, please contact Theo Clark at theo@vtchildrenstrust.org
If you have volunteered in the past as a chef or conductor, please contact Amanda@vtchildrenstrust.org to volunteer in that role.
VCTF is grateful to Lot 7 Media for donating the production of this video!
Polar Express 2025 Photos
THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride photos courtesy of Stephen Mease Photography and Leif Tillotson PHOTOGRAPHY.
THE POLAR EXPRESS and all related characters and elements © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.