Passenger Trains > Southbound Adirondack quite a disaster on the 4th

MTR * * 1 1020A * 1020A Departed: On time.
SLQ * * 1 1035A * 1036A Departed: 1 minute late.
RSP 1 1155A 1 1255P 1234P 241P Arrived: 39 minutes late.
| Departed: 1 hour, 46 minutes late.
PLB 1 122P 1 125P 311P 313P Arrived: 1 hour, 49 minutes late.
| Departed: 1 hour, 48 minutes late.
WSP * * 1 229P * 435P Departed: 2 hours, 6 minutes late.

Can't tell if it was US Customs making a fuss or not. I don't know if they post Rousses Pt arrival until they clear Customs.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/15 14:02 by joemvcnj.

Arrival time at Rouses Point is before US Customs gets ahold of the train.  Once they're on board the train, departure time is a crap shoot.  Back in the 90's and early 2000's, the train was allowed one hour at the Point.  Quite often, that hour was not enough to accommodate the Customs people.

Two hours late into Albany, and an hour 54 minutes late into Hudson NY.  Looks like they needed the cushion south of Saratoga and the engine change at Rensselaer

Could be worse, I guess.
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/15 18:48 by Lackawanna484.

I think it be easier if customs wouldn't take their time doing the train each time the train shows up, but then again how is it in Niagara Falls and up in Vancouver!

They actually don't pull up to the platform or do staion work until Customs is done, which is why I asked. But it looks like they lost 40 minutes in Canada, then Customs dithered for over 2 hours, probably thinking they were holding back ISIS from attending any fireworks displays in NYC.

Southbound at least, U.S. Customs could be done at Montreal, just as it is done at the airports of the same three cities, Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.  Only one train a day at each of those cities could be covered easily by an attachment from the airport office.  That would knock two hours off the ride, eliminate the few stops between point of departure and border.  A simlilar arrangement Northbound, go through customs at arrival station.

PennPlat Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Southbound at least, U.S. Customs could be done at
> Montreal, just as it is done at the airports of
> the same three cities, Vancouver, Toronto and
> Montreal. 

That is what they are planning for Montreal and it’s slowly making its way through regulatory approvals before construction can start in Gare Centrale. It will be one facility manned by both the US and Canada similar to Vancouver.

A similar arrangement in Toronto wouldn’t work as the Maple Leaf is a VIA train between there and the Border with lots of on/off traffic.

A two-hour late running train can be a major inconvenience for travelers, some of whom may say "never again."  As there was no major loss of life or suffering from injuries, calling this a "disaster" is an exaggeration.
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/15 20:50 by RuleG.

I've been on this train where we have arrived northbound into Rouses Point three to four hours LATE, and then had to do the customs delay! Similiar events southbound. You just never know with the Adirondack. Typically I take the train to Port Kent or Plattsburgh to head over to Burlington. There have been times - heading north - that I sit and pray that I'll make the last ferry at Port Kent to Burlington or the Enterprise car rental at Plattsburgh.......

An under two hour delay for this train was pretty good at one time. I think time keeping has improved lately, but there's always the unexepected.