NEW YORK — Amtrak’s planned six-week outage of Adirondack service north of Saratoga Springs to Montreal, originally slated to last through June 29, will now apparently stretch into the second week of September.
The news was originally reported by the Adirondack Explorer, based on Amtrak booking cancellations and a letter obtained by the non-profit news site.
The train continues to operate between New York City and Saratoga Springs, but six other stations in New York State, as well as Montreal, will now be without Amtrak service for virtually the entire summer travel season. It will be the second straight summer of major service disruptions; trains were suspended on the same portion of the route for 79 days last summer because of heat-related speed restrictions in Canada that began June 24.
As with the original outage, Amtrak’s website does not currently reflect the service disruption on its “Service Alerts & Notices” page, or on the “Destinations” page for the Adirondack. Attempts to book tickets between New York and Montreal on the website on several random dates in July and August returned a message: “We do not have any services between the cities entered on the date(s) you selected. Please try different date(s)” — with no other explanation.
However, an attempt to book in the first week in September brought a pop-up window with the message, “No trains or buses are scheduled on the travel date you selected. Next travel date: Mon., September 9. Continue to see trips on the next available date or Cancel to start a new search.”
The original 41-day suspension, which began May 20, was first explained by Amtrak as being “due to anticipated track work” [see “Amtrak to be cancelled in northern New York State, Canada for more than a month …,” Trains News Wire, May 9, 2024]. Subsequently, Amtrak and Canadian National announced they had reached agreement on track maintenance in Canada to address last year’s speed restrictions [see “Amtrak, CN reach agreement on track work …,” News Wire, May 17, 2024]. That announcement did include the proviso that “Adirondack service may be modified on a short-term basis in the coming weeks to ensure completion of the track work.”
In response to a News Wire request for more information, Amtrak said in a statement on Monday, June 10, that it “will be extending the modification of Adirondack service between New York City and Saratoga Springs through Sunday, September 8 as CN continues to progress track work on their line in Canada. We apologize to our customers for any inconvenience.”
Not surprisingly, news of the extended loss of service did not go over well in Northern New York.
“All we can do is accept this comedy of mismanagement by Amtrak and hope that this time the early September target for resolution is real,” North Country Chamber of Commerce President Garry Douglas told the Adirondack Explorer. “Tourists, students and others keep showing they’re ready to return to the service and miss it, but it’s like Charlie Brown with Lucy and the football. And so we lose another summer, which clearly didn’t need to happen.”
— Updated June 10 at 9:50 a.m. CT with Amtrak statement.
Back in 2003/4 NYS gave $2 million dollars to pull the railyard from in front of the Plattsburgh station and more money to move and open a yard on the old Plattsburgh AFB nearby.
Any reason why the train cant be serviced there overnight, I have no info on if they can wye the locomotive or consist.
Maybe a cab car can be added at least till Albany or Saratoga.
At leat the North Country would have some service by railTrailways and Flixbus One also have Trailways, Greyhound Flixbus are options that have various schedules
Rouses Poinr? sorry you seem to be out of luck
What can we say about it? Better late than never?! This mismanagement, which tends to become chronic, must end now!
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
Amtrak, CN (and NYDOT) would do themselves a great favor if they gave a more detailed explanation of the work being done north of the border on the project to restore the CN Rouses Point Subdivision to proper passenger standards and why it has just been extended from 6 to 18. weeks. And I still think the train should be running from New York to Plattsburgh and if at all possible with a bus connection from there to Montreal.
BUT–we need to be patient with the project as well. The ADIRONDACK has faced severe speed restrictions because of deteriorated track conditions that finally are getting addressed. It should be no surprise if supplies have not all arrived, and/or if new issues are found as the work progresses. In not explaining these things the railroads and their government route sponsors are creating unneeded speculation.
BUT we need to tone down what sometimes almost seems like doomsday criticism and acknowledge that what we’ve long been waiting for–a better and faster route to Montreal is coming at last.
I have been guilty of cynicism here as well, but for over a decade I also demanded that we needed to do the track upgrades to reach Gare Central. It’s finally happening.
I am trying to find out more details about the project that can be legitimately shared, but let us also be grateful that this part of the work to speed up in ADIRONDACK (and eventually the VERMONTER too to Montreal) is at last underway.
Great post Carl.
Geez, why isn’t anyone on this forum, as well as Mr. Douglas of the North County Chamber of Commerce, going after that profile in cowardice Gov. Hochul and her DOT? They are paying Amtrak for that train per the PRIIRA Section 209 yet they will not lift a finger. A plan to put down a siding and off-train support facilities on which to turn the train at Plattsburgh or Rouses Point is a non-starter if indeed it ever occurred to them. But NYState sure knew how to get themselves replacement of the Tappan Zee I-87 Bridge. Of course, if Gov. Hochul doesn’t care about mass transit in the New York City metro region her not caring about preserving one pathetic train in each direction to the communities north of Saratoga Springs isn’t really a surprise.
I’m going to St. Albans in a couple of weeks because that’s as far as I can get. I’m just hoping the Vermonter doesn’t have a n Amtrak fiasco as well. A lot of promises made by Amtrak mgmt but very few are kept. Like that OpEd written in Railway age, Amtrak management has little clue in the here and now. It’s pitiful.
I can appreciate all commenters vilifying Amtrak. I also wonder if there is some blame to apportion to CN. I believe CN uses most of the same rails to deliver its freight trains to and from St. Albans, VT. Can the upgrading of trackage really take six months?
“IF” it is equipment use the retiring VIA equipment and CP somehow Montreal – Albany. Time for our congressional critters for FOIA
As bad as it is that there will be no train service for the entire summer, there is no alternative, not a bus, not a van, nothing, nada, zip, zero. Amtrak’s whole plan for Adirondack riders north of Saratoga is, “sucks to be you.” A bus, or a few of them, to provide some level of service in this remote region would not even require, as Dan Wheeler put it, “management to think on their feet.” They should have had a contingency plan already in place for just such a situation. Isn’t that what management gets paid to do?? Apparently, the idea is lost on the current operators of Amtrak.
This would never have happened when it was the D&H; something would have been put in place, somehow, and an arrangement for detour would have been worked out-or probably already had been-with CN and CP, though the D&H already had the Napierville Junction, so that would also have been an option. I know the world is not the same as it was in the 1960’s and 70’s, but to leave no transport options, is not acceptable. Even if they had to work out a detour via Rutland, Burlington, and the former CV through St Albans, something could have been done. This is crap.
That was my thought about the detour also. The Eathan Allen Express also goes to Burlington. I can’t remember why, but the Vermonter has been trying to extend its route to Montreal, (like it used to), but I think it is a customs problem. Of course, neither of those routes helps New York north of Saratoga Springs. Also, looking on Google Earth, it looks like the tracks turn north at Rouses Point.
I’m wondering if the delay is needed to give the good folks at Beech Grove the time to repair/overhaul enough equipment to run the Adirondack because its coaches have been used to boost capacity on other trains.
This idea is based on the fact that in my part of the world, the Silver Star and Silver Meteor have each picked up a 4th coach (also a 3rd sleeper, which the Adirondack doesn’t carry). How many other Amfleet-equipped trains have picked up extra coaches? Last time I checked, Amtrak was not flush with spare, operable cars sitting in Sunnyside or Chicago.
Am I giving Amtrak management too much credit for thinking on their feet and attempting to get maximum utilization from the operable equipment they do have? Given their track record (pun intended) since the Airline Man took over several years ago, I think I just answered my own question.