Passenger Trains > Adirondack resuming Monday

ALBANY — After a summerlong hiatus to repair tracks north of the border, Amtrak train service between Albany and Montreal is set to resume Monday.

The service was halted in May to allow for work on tracks north of the New York/Quebec border. Those tracks are owned by the Canadian National railway and had deteriorated to the point where trains had to slow significantly during hot weather.

Amtrak and Canadian National had previously tussled over who should pay for the track improvements, but the organizations reached an agreement in May. Amtrak contributed to the cost.

May’s stoppage was initially thought to last until July, but the line remained closed longer, with the scheduled reopening on Sept. 9.

During the stoppage, Trailways provided service between the Capital Region and Montreal. The bus and train operators have since entered into a cooperative partnership allowing travelers to buy tickets on both services. That allows a person to, for instance, take the train from New York City to Rensselaer and then get a bus to Montreal. While Amtrak is expected to run one Montreal-bound train a day, Trailways has four trips from Albany, said company president Alex Berardi.

The Amtrak route between Albany and Montreal is scenic, although it may not be the fastest way to make the trip, which is about 3½ hours by car. According to their schedule and timetable, the trip between the Albany/Rensselaer train station and Montreal is 8 ½ hours.

Part of that is due to the stop at customs, said Amtrak spokesman Jason Abrams. And part of it is because the train also stops at Schenectady, Saratoga Springs and Glens Falls. Additionally, the rail line does not follow a straight direct path to Montreal.

Tickets one-way from Albany to Montreal were $74 as of Tuesday afternoon.

On the web with an image:

https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/amtrak-service-albany-montreal-resumes-hiatus-19739566.php

"Part of that is due to the stop at customs, said Amtrak spokesman Jason Abrams. And part of it is because the train also stops at Schenectady, Saratoga Springs and Glens Falls. 

Train does not stop at Glens Falls, but at Fort Edwards, Whitehall, Ticonderoga, Port Henry, Westport, Plattsburgh, and Rouses Pt. 
 

It is a beautiful route, but much of it is curvy and slow.  35 mph.  

The partnership with Trailways is interesting. I wonder if Amtrak will try to coordinate schedules.

Train schedules are pretty much set by Metro North slots, fitting in among other Empire service trains, and passing meets on the D&H. 
I don't expect Adirondack Trailways to do anything. 

With the track improvements that Amtrak paid for, is the schedule faster than before?

Posted from iPhone

amtrakbill Wrote:
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> With the track improvements that Amtrak paid for,
> is the schedule faster than before?

Same schedule. Purpose is to lift 86 degree heat slow orders. We'll see what happens next June 21. 

"......which is about 3 1/2 hrs by car."  Yes, if you drive at 95 MPH!
"......Albany/Rensselaer and Montreal is 8 1/2 hours." Huh? Does the writer
mean New York Penn Station and Montreal? 8 1/2 hours? I don't think so.
"...the rail line does not follow a straight direct path to Montreal." Yes, well,
there is a reason for that - a rail line is not an air line. Brilliant!

And finally, will the soon to be reinstated Adirondack have clean windows?
Maybe the VIA people in Montreal will be kind enough to arrange for that.

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/05/24 15:47 by CPMorris.

amtrakbill Wrote:
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> With the track improvements that Amtrak paid for,
> is the schedule faster than before?
>
> Posted from iPhone

The schedule has not been changed - yet at least. I would think they should be able to get an hour's worth of savings. Adirondack used to leave NYP Station at like 8:30 am and get into Montreal at 6:00 pm. Now its pegged at a 12 hour journey. NUTS! I am glad they upgraded the tracks though as this was a popular NYP to Montreal train, despite the length of the trip. It's a long time in an Amfleet seat. I loved the Adirondack after it got the refurbished ex-PRR Congressional (Heritage) coaches that had the large windows and even a nice singe level LOUNGE car. Even the Turboliner was a nice switch-up. After the Congo cars were retired in early 2000's, the Adirondack got a low density ex-Metroliner train set with great leg room and space etc. But that then disappeared when the ex-Metroliner sets got recalled to to replace the newly launched Acela Express train sets that got sidelined for about six months. That was a dark six months mix of equipment. Then instead of getting back the ex-Metroliner train set the Adirondack got high density Amfleet 1 coaches and then a mix of Amfleet I and II with the Amfleet lounge that was a disappointment for such a trip like this. 

Tbe ex-PRR Congo/Senator coaches had too tight a seat pitch, though OK for NY - Princeton Clocker commuters. But the windows were big. The lounge car was also a nice touch and better for food and lounge service than the Amfleet Crummysnackbar, though it also meant the loss of the extra fare accommodation, then called Custom Class.

joemvcnj Wrote:
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> "Part of that is due to the stop at customs, said Amtrak spokesman Jason Abrams. And part of it is
> because the train also stops at Schenectady, Saratoga Springs and Glens Falls. 
>
> Train does not stop at Glens Falls, but at Fort Edwards, Whitehall, Ticonderoga, Port Henry,
> Westport, Plattsburgh, and Rouses Pt. 

You're correct, of course; well, if you drop the "s" from Fort Edwards.
But perhaps Mr. Abrams is a senior spokesman, and inadvertantly recalled the good old days, like 1986, when the Amtrak station was marked with both names.
/Ted

---

Well, the trip is terribly slow, but fun.  I have ridden from Montreal to NYC and it is a beautiful trip with Lake Champlain and then the Hudson.  But it is slow, and I did it in tourist mode.  Otherwise, I would drive or fly.  

Time to extend the Vermonter. 

Too bad that Amtrak no longer has a dome to operate over that, or ANY scenic route!
 

NWCavalier15 Wrote:
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> Too bad that Amtrak no longer has a dome to
> operate over that, or ANY scenic route!
>  

Missed opportunity to sell it as a premium service and actually make some money. Although Amtrak would probably claim that it costs a billion dollars a year to maintain a heritage fleet car or two.

The dome was always a hit when offered around this time each year. Did Amtrak charge a premium fare for access?

Here's the latest from Trains superb reporter Bob Johnston on the ADIRONDACK track condition debacle.
https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/adirondack-resumes-monday-with-canadian-trackwork-incomplete/


While it is certainly good to see the trains back starting Monday, the article makes it clear much track maintenance remains to be done and the work actually accomplished is insufficient to eliminate definitively another round of slow orders when temps exceed 85F in the future. Nor will there be any near-term improvement in the insanely slow (northbound in particular) running times on the CN from Rouses Point to Montreal.

It is 49 miles from Rouses Point to Montreal. Before the COVID suspension (basically for three years) the train took three hours/6 minutes over this district (which included an assumed a dwell-time of an hour for Canadian Border Control formalities enroute at Cantic P.Q. Now that is stretched out to three hours/43 minutes! That's 223 minutes for 49 miles! This is an average speed of under 15mph. A bike-rider is good shape could compete with this!

Southbound is faster, as US Border formalities are conducted during the Rouses Point stop--BUT--the train still takes an hour and 55 minutes for the 49 miles, compared to one hour/30 minutes pre COVID. And the dwell time at Rouses Point for US Customs/Immigration is still a full hour, making the inclusive Montreal to Rouses Point schedule southbound two hours/55 minutes.

Comparing northbound times to those southbound, with the Rouses Point dwell time included still shows 48 minutes of "padding" between the border and Montreal. These absurdly slow run times are unchanged despite all the track work?!

Worse, the nature/scope/ambitions/accomplishments of the summer-long suspension remain essentially secret. Neither Amtrak, CN or NYDOT have provided any real outline of what was done--nor what is still needed. They may know privately, but this needs to be public. Right now!

Are they afraid it will be discovered that Amtrak spent (fully and properly authorized and appropriated) US money across the border? Is CN after all this time still not willing to commit to "normal" 50mph running on tangent track and 30MPH elsewhere?

This situation remains intentionally obfuscated if these simple questions can't be answered. And ultimately that will not be good for CN, Amtrak or NYDOT. After five years without the ADIRONDACK running through the entire peak summer season (2020, 21, 22, 23, & 24) these questions MUST be answered.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/08/24 07:56 by Railvt.

irhoghead Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> NWCavalier15 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Too bad that Amtrak no longer has a dome to
> > operate over that, or ANY scenic route!
> >  
>
> Missed opportunity to sell it as a premium service
> and actually make some money. Although Amtrak
> would probably claim that it costs a billion
> dollars a year to maintain a heritage fleet car or
> two.

YOU ARE NOT KIDDING! This could be such a premium service, yet Amtrak can't figure out. I am not saying that Amtrak needs to go this far, but the VIA Prestige Service has helped reduce The Canadian's losses and it is well received and BOOKED solid every trip. When Rosenwald did the PIP's for each LD train, he had proposed Amtrak purchase four dome cars to run on the Cardinal as a "premium type service" and to operate it daily. The new LD equipment that is being proposed has the "Lounge" being more of a "sleeper class" perk and program moving forward. I just hope Amtrak does do the option of putting the overhead skylights in so to make the new LD equipment unique and have that competitive edge over other modes of transportation. 

There was no premium charged for the dome on the Adirondack, but I would gladly pay a premium for any dome on any Amtrak train. I'd book a bedroom even for short distance on the Coast Starlight just to get the Pacific Parlor Car option........I always hoped that VIA Rail Canada would "loan" Amtrak a Skyline or Park Car to operate on the Adirondack from Albany-Rennsalaer to Montreal as VIA's contribution to the Adirondack bringing two car loads (on most days) of passengers to St. Lambert/Montreal. 

Skyline Dome cars on the Canadian (somewhat like the ex-Amtrak Pacific Parlor Car) offers craft brew tastings, wine tastings, welcome aboard champagne and appetizers, etc.