SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — After more than a month with no mention in the “Passenger Advisories” section of Amtrak’s website that the New York-Montreal Adirondack wasn’t running north of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., the passenger operator has acknowledged that the summertime hiatus will extend until Sept. 9.
The “Modified Adirondack Service” notice appeared a week after the extended suspension was first reported [see “Suspension of Amtrak’s Adirondack to Montreal will continue …,” Trains News Wire, June 7, 2024]. It explains, “Effective May 20 – September 9, 2024, Amtrak will be extending the modification of Adirondack service and will only operate between New York City and Saratoga Springs through Sunday, Sept. 8, as CN continues to progress track work on their line in Canada.”
The advisory then suggests: “For those passengers wishing to travel north of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., there is daily bus service on Greyhound. Availability and connections to/from Greyhound are not guaranteed. Please visit their website for further information.”
News Wire did just that, and found about 10 daily buses between New York City and Montreal operated by either Greyhound or Trailways. More than half of the trips ran overnight. Interestingly, one of the bus stops is at the Saratoga Springs train station, which would facilitate a convenient connection if train and bus schedules could be coordinated.
However, using Monday, June 17, as an example, the northbound Adirondack was scheduled to arrive at 12:28 p.m. (it actually got in at 12:46 p.m.). A Greyhound was scheduled to depart at 12:35 p.m., so no reliable connection is available there. The next bus to Montreal didn’t leave Saratoga Springs until 3:15 p.m., requiring a 2½ hour layover. That one was scheduled to arrive in Montreal at 8:25 p.m., about the time the train would get there (after a lengthy customs stop at the border) if it were running at normal track speed. There were no Montreal bus connections available from the northbound Ethan Allen, which is scheduled for a 5:54 p.m. arrival at Saratoga from New York.
Passengers riding a 7 a.m. bus out of Montreal would arrive at 12:15 p.m. so could comfortably connect with the southbound Ethan Allen at Saratoga, which departs at 1:22 p.m. A bus coming from Montreal at 4:20 p.m. would arrive in plenty of time for the truncated Adirondack’s departure at 6:02 p.m. Of course, passengers could ride the bus in both directions all the way between Montreal and New York City; those fares ranged from $87 to $126 on Monday.
In upstate New York, buses to and from Montreal also serve Glens Falls (as does Amtrak’s Burlington, Vt., bound Ethan Allen) and Plattsburgh, but bypass the Adirondack’s stops at Whitehall, Ticonderoga, Port Henry, and Westport, N.Y.
The bottom line: Amtrak directs would-be train riders to a bus website, but the travelers will likely be disappointed in not being able to piece together a train-bus journey that meets their needs. More than a few passengers likely won’t come back after the trains do.
Amtrak, Canadian National, and New York State have not responded to News Wire requests to explain what the CN “track work” entails, why plans were not implemented sooner, why no connecting buses were considered, as well as any explanation of speed and cost considerations for the repairs. Reporting during last year’s service outage did piece together some of the issues [see “CN, Amtrak disagree on payments …,” News Wire, June 29, 2023].
Track condition to facilitate higher speeds when high temperatures demand more stringent construction standards are clearly relevant, challenges that can be intelligently discussed if the parties involved so choose.
Instead, Canadian National released a statement to News Wire and other media outlets late Friday placing the blame elsewhere.
“CN’s Rouses Point Subdivision, which hosts Amtrak’s Adirondack service, is open for freight and passenger rail operations and will remain open all summer and fall while undergoing maintenance,” the statement reads. “CN continues to operate three to five freight trains daily over this line, and did so as recently as today. Amtrak unilaterally decided to suspend its passenger service between Saratoga Springs and Montreal between May 20 and Sept. 9 without consultation with CN.”
Without proper context, media outlets like Burlington, Vt., CBS-TV affiliate WCAX-TV took the statement at face value. Why wouldn’t any news consumer come away with the idea that riding this train in the future is anything but an ordeal? Perhaps more definitive information will be forthcoming. In the meantime, protecting and growing Adirondack patronage doesn’t seem to be a priority for any of the train’s stakeholders.
Reminds me of the oft quoted statement: ” A hog can cross America without changing trains, but you can’t.” And who is the upper level manager, who will receive a big bonus, that is responsible for this mess?
How bout inviting VIA rail to run the service to Albany. They own the tracks down to Albany.
As to customs delays, in Europe, the board the train one stop before borders and checks are performed reroute. US customs already operates out of Montreal airport.
All the zillions of times I’ve crossed the border between USA and Canada (by airplane, by rail, by car, by bicycle) ….. DHS had to cancel the well-patronized Amtrak train crossing at Port Huron (Michigan). Where BTW a zillion cars and trucks cross every day on the Blue Water Bridge.
News flash — Canadian National freight trains cross the border but a passenger train can’t through the very same tunnel? What’s the thinking?
Passengers from New York City would be better off taking the train to Albany, taking a quick cab ride over the Hudson to the Albany bus terminal and getting the bus there. There is frequent , reliable service between the two cities.
But be sure to book the trains that originate in Albany. The others are usually late.
So. Amtrak has discovered there ARE schedulled busses. Now they need to figure out they can charter the bus instead, and run it as a direct (and guaranteed) connection. It seems USA and Canada Customs and Immigration can handle busses.
Why not using CPKC all the way from Rouses Point and get into Windsor station in Montreal, which was the station for the Laurentian and later for the Adirondack.
When you want something working, you find a solution. There is no will with CN.
Bertrand Dion
AKA Ferrophile
It is obvious Amtrak only cares about the trains on its own tracks in the northeast part of the country. If I wanted to take a bus I would have done the whole route rather than wanting to change modes somewhere along the route. I take the train because the seats are more comfortable and as bad as it is there is food service available. The state of New York is also not being an advocate for this service they subsidize. Why should upstate passengers have to take a bus? Run the train to Plattsburgh and layover there and go back south from there. Then see if a connecting bus could go onto Montreal from there. If not at least the upstate New York passengers would be served.
Great idea.
iansinclair22@gmail.com
The problem may not be entirely of Amtrak’s making — though I doubt they are helping much. Rather, in years gone by (and I see no reason for it to change) the real hassle (at least in my opinion) for the Adirondack — and the reason, I expect, why the Vermonter stops in St. Albans and the Ethan Allen in Burlington, is the interminable (and unpredictable) delays at customs at Rouses Point for the Adirondack. It might be half an hour. It might be three hours — and you can’t get off the train to stretch until the customs folks are through.
That’s no way to run a railroad, folks.
As for the Vermonter, I think they have been working with Customs to have the passengers go through at the station in Montreal, instead of stopping at Rouses Point.
I’m pretty sure that the lines are down due to construction of the Champlain Hudson Power Express–where they are installing high voltage underground cable from Montreal to NYC. Most of the line is underground except for a portion which goes in the railroad right of way. Construction is underway in Saratoga right now. I have no idea why the various involved companies are so dodgy about it and not being transparent about the work. https://chpexpress.com/ << go to "Interactive Project Map" and you'll see the construction along the railroad line, which includes the Saratoga Springs Railroad Station.
At a minimum this is a failure to be transparent.
While the termination of the Adirondack over the summer is a significant
service loss for travelers to and from Canada, it is a boon to Vermont passengers.
The Adirondack and the Ethan Allen “conflict” to a greater or lesser extent in
both directions when all are running. Amtrak has recently adjusted the
Ethan Allen’s schedule to limit this (southbound trains move earlier in the day)
but with the absence of Trains 68 and 69, there are no conflicts between the trains. The result is better timekeeping on 290 and 291. Last Summer while the
termination took place, there was also a shift of Canadian riders to Burlington,
Vermont. Apparently, there were good bus connections north and south to Canada using BTV as a gateway. According to folks on board, the trip times using
this routing were not substantially different from the through train. Necessity,
it seems, is the mother of invention….
More on the ADIRONDACK debacle. WCAX, the highly respected Vermont CBS outlet, has indeed gotten a direct response from the CN as the track upgrade status. If they tell it “true” they did not ask Amtrak to suspend service.
But the question remains of what speeds would be allowed on hot days this summer, before the work finishes? Would the morning train southbound be allowed to operate as usual, since 85F+ usually comes later in the day? Would 30mph segments be cut to 10mph? Has any of the work been finished?
All valid concerns, as we face three 90F+ days next week in northern Vermont/New York/southern Quebec. But the larger question is why did Amtrak cancel the service indefinitely? If normal operations could be possible on many days is the total loss of the route worth running late on a few days? With the northbound schedule already set to take three hours 43. minutes for 47 miles how much further delay would be incurred?
This story just emphasizes the callousness of AMTRAK senior leadership and their unwillingness and inability to actually provide service.
I agree with you, Mr. Shigley. But what columnist Bob Johnson says in his last sentence is also true. Where is Gov. Hochul? Where is NYStateDOT? They pay for the train per the PRIIA Section 209, btw crafted, at least in part, by Amtrak’s current CEO? Where is Cong. Elise Stefanik who was out there celebrating the Adirondack’s return to operation, what a month ago, saying it was such a good thing for New Yorkers who live along thr route? How come NYState can build and get into service a new Tappan Zee I-87 Bridge with blinding speed but cannot or will not build a siding and layover facilities at Plattsburgh or Rouses Point and turn the Adirondack there? Then again, it’s only one train a day just like on so many of Amtrak routes outside Coscia’s and Gardner’s Nothing Else Counts NEC. There should be two trains each way on complementary schedules to really make a difference. But NYState doesn’t seem to be interested in having one much less two.
This Adirondack schedule only requires one train set did Amtrak want the other train seet equipment for more capacity somewhere??
I didn’t know Trailways was still even around.
Toronto – Chicago is a no-brainer. Amtrak and VIA should get to work on this. And, of course, Department of Homeland Security needs to get its act together.
Ironic that the lead photo has a loco with “Connecting America”….. Maybe change it to leave the driving to Greyhound. Which you do with other amtrak ‘interruptions’ like the Crescent in January from ATL to NO. and you don’t fly.
Amtrak may or may not connect America. Amtrak doesn’t do all that well connecting America to Canada. Discontinuance of the popular Chicago to Toronto train (by way of Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, East Lansing, Flint, Port Huron and London) was a sorry mistake. Not of Amtrak’s making.
On a more positive note, waiting for the southbound Cascade in Seattle this month, I saw a big crowd queuing for the Vancouver train. While not everyone on the Vancouver train crosses the border (there are stops on the Washington State side) plenty of people lined up for passport control.