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The Adirondack is an intercity rail passenger train operated daily, partially along the Empire Corridor, by Amtrak between New York City and Montreal. The trip takes approximately 11 hours to cover a published distance of 381 miles (613 km), traveling through the scenic Hudson Valley and along the eastern border of the Adirondack Mountains.[2] The Adirondack is financed by the New York State Department of Transportation. It is temporarily suspended as of March 2020 due to the closure of the Canadian/American border in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of fall 2022, a service resumption date has not yet been announced.[3][4]

Adirondack

The Adirondack at Saratoga Springs station in 2013
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Status	Suspended
Predecessor	Laurentian (D&H)
First service	August 6, 1974
Current operator(s)	Amtrak
Annual ridership	117,490 (FY19)[1][lower-alpha 1]
Route
Termini	New York Montreal, Quebec
Distance travelled	381 miles (613 km)
Average journey time	11 hours
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	68 (southbound), 69 (northbound)
On-board services
Class(es)	Reserved coach
Catering facilities	Cafe/Lounge car
Technical
Rolling stock	Amfleet coaches
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Track owner(s)	Metro-North Railroad CSX Transportation Canadian Pacific Railway Canadian National Railway
Route map Legend 0 mi Montreal Corridor to Toronto 4 mi 6 km Saint-Lambert Corridor to Quebec City Ocean to Halifax Montreal–Windsor Station Westmount Bypassed 1983 Montréal-Ouest Bypassed 1983 Pre-1986 route Cantic Customs, closed 2010 48 mi 77 km Quebec, Canada New York, United States 49 mi 79 km Rouses Point 72 mi 116 km Plattsburgh 85 mi 137 km Port Kent Seasonal 99 mi 159 km Willsboro Seasonal, closed 1987 112 mi 180 km Westport 123 mi 198 km Port Henry 140 mi 225 km Ticonderoga 162 mi 261 km Whitehall Ethan Allen Express to Burlington 184 mi 296 km Fort Edward 203 mi 327 km Saratoga Springs Pre-1978 route Mechanicville Watervliet Empire Corridor 222 mi 357 km Schenectady 240 mi 386 km Albany–Rensselaer Lake Shore Limited to Boston Berkshire Flyer to Pittsfield 268 mi 431 km Hudson 293 mi 472 km Rhinecliff–Kingston 309 mi 497 km Poughkeepsie 349 mi 562 km Croton–Harmon 367 mi 591 km Yonkers New York Grand Central Pre-1991 terminus Empire Connection Northeast Corridor to Washington 381 mi 613 km New York Penn Station Northeast Corridor to Boston This diagram: view talk edit

For most of its existence, the Adirondack has been plagued by numerous delays. Amtrak only owns two legs of the route, in Manhattan and between Poughkeepsie and Schenectady. Additionally, the route crosses an international boundary where immigration procedures can take up to two hours. The on-time performance of the route averaged 64.8% for the year ending June 2016. According to Amtrak, 28.8% of the train delay was due to track- and signal-related problems, especially along the Delaware & Hudson segment, which is now owned by Canadian Pacific Railway.[5]

History

At the inception of Amtrak on May 1, 1971, the Delaware & Hudson operated two trains between Albany, New York and Montreal: the Montreal Limited (overnight) and the Laurentian (day). Both trains were discontinued, and for three years the D&H line saw no service. Amtrak service to Montreal began with the Montrealer, which ran through Vermont rather than New York, in 1972. The Adirondack began running on August 6, 1974 (with a ceremonial train the previous day) from Grand Central Terminal in New York to Albany, then over the D&H's line to Windsor Station in Montreal.[6][7] From the outset the train operated with financial support from the state of New York.[6] The train initially operated as a section of the New York–Buffalo Empire State Express.[8]

The Adirondack used CP Rail's Windsor Station until January 12, 1986, when it was rerouted to CN Rail's Central Station. Until the Empire Connection was built in 1991, the train served Grand Central Terminal instead of Penn Station in New York City.

As part of an effort to improve on-time performance along the Empire Corridor, Amtrak reached an agreement with CSX to lease the CSX Hudson Subdivision between Poughkeepsie and Schenectady. Starting in 2012, Amtrak effectively took operational control of the Hudson Subdivision, handling all maintenance and capital responsibilities.[9] Even with this move, Amtrak still operates less than half of the trackage along the Adirondack route.

In 2012, U.S. Customs and Border Protection began planning a preclearance facility at Montreal Central Station, which would allow departing passengers to be prescreened in Montreal, where northbound passengers would be processed by the Canada Border Services Agency upon arrival, rather than at the border itself. Presently, the Adirondack must stop at Lacolle, Quebec northbound and Rouses Point, New York southbound for immigration procedures that can take up to two hours.[10] By early 2017, the United States Congress had passed its necessary enabling legislation.[11] The corresponding Canadian legislation was given royal assent in late 2017, though it is yet to enter into force.[12]

On April 10, 2018, Amtrak announced that all trains using the Empire Connection, excluding the Lake Shore Limited, would operate into Grand Central Terminal from May 26 to September 4, 2018, to allow work on the Empire Tunnel, the Spuyten Duyvil movable bridge, and Track 19 in New York's Penn Station.[13]

Due to continuing infrastructure work at Penn Station, the northbound Adirondack ran combined with the northbound Maple Leaf for most of the summer of 2019, splitting in Albany. The two trains ran separately on weekends during July and August.[14]

In March 2020, the Adirondack was truncated to Albany–Rensselaer after all non-essential travel across the Canada-United States border was banned in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[15][16] In July 2021, Adirondack service was suspended following the resumption of Ethan Allen Express service to Rutland, which overlaps the Adirondack between New York City and Fort Edward. In October 2022, Amtrak began running crew re-qualification trips in preparation of the train's return. No date has been set as of October 20, 2022^[update].[17]

Route details

The Adirondack operates over Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific Railway, CSX Transportation, Metro-North Railroad and Amtrak rails:[18]

• CN St-Hyacinthe Subdivision, Montreal to Southwark: 6.15 mi (9.90 km) [19]
• CN Rouses Point Subdivision, Southwark to Rouses Point: 42.7 mi (68.7 km)
• CP Canadian Subdivision, Rouses Point to Ballston: 169.3 mi (272.5 km)
• CP Freight Subdivision, Ballston to Schenectady: 4.6 mi (7.4 km)
• CSX Hudson Subdivision, Schenectady to Poughkeepsie (trackage leased by Amtrak): 86.3 mi (138.9 km)
• Metro-North Hudson Line, Poughkeepsie to Spuyten Duyvil: 61.8 mi (99.5 km)
• Amtrak Empire Connection, Spuyten Duyvil to Penn Station 11.4 mi (18.3 km)

Unlike the Maple Leaf, which is operated by Via Rail crews in Canada, the Adirondack (like Cascades trains to Vancouver) is operated solely by Amtrak personnel.

Equipment

The Adirondack operates with General Electric P42DC and P32AC-DM units and Amfleet passenger cars. A typical consist includes:

• 1 P42DC/P32AC-DM locomotive. The P32AC-DM operates between New York and Albany; the P42DC handles the remainder.[2]
• 1 Amfleet I cafe car[2]
• 2-4 Amfleet I coach cars[2]
• 2 Amfleet II coach cars[2]

Unlike other Empire Corridor trains, the Adirondack does not offer business class seating.[2]

The Adirondack debuted in 1974 with D&H equipment, much of it ex-Laurentian, as Amtrak was experiencing equipment shortages. These were supplemented by a pair of Skyline dome cars leased from the Canadian Pacific Railway. Two D&H ALCO PA diesel locomotives hauled each train. On March 1, 1977, new Turboliner gas turbine trainsets took over from the D&H cars. Conventional Amtrak equipment would eventually displace the Turboliners.[20]

Station stops

State/Province	Town/City	Station	Connections/Notes
Québec	Montréal	Montreal	Via Rail: Québec City–Windsor Corridor, Ocean, Montreal–Jonquière, Montreal–Senneterre Exo: Mont-Saint-Hilaire line, Mascouche line Montreal Metro: Orange STM Bus: 36, 61, 74, 75, 107, 150, 168, 178, 410, 420, 430, 435, 715, 747
	Saint-Lambert	Saint-Lambert	Via Rail: Québec City–Windsor Corridor, Ocean Exo: Mont-Saint-Hilaire line RTL: 1, 6, 55, 106
Canada–United States border
New York	Rouses Point	Rouses Point
	Plattsburgh	Plattsburgh	Clinton County Public Transit (at Government Center)
	Port Kent	Port Kent	Lake Champlain Transportation: seasonal ferry service to Burlington, Vermont. Train stops only on days ferry operates.
	Westport	Westport	Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach to Lake Placid.
	Port Henry	Port Henry
	Ticonderoga	Ticonderoga	Fort Ticonderoga Ferry: seasonal ferry service to Shoreham, Vermont.
	Whitehall	Whitehall
	Fort Edward	Fort Edward	Amtrak: Ethan Allen Express Greater Glens Falls Transit
	Saratoga Springs	Saratoga Springs	Amtrak: Ethan Allen Express Capital District Transportation Authority
	Schenectady	Schenectady	Amtrak: Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Lake Shore Limited, Maple Leaf
	Rensselaer	Albany–Rensselaer	Amtrak: Berkshire Flyer, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Lake Shore Limited, Maple Leaf Capital District Transportation Authority
	Hudson	Hudson	Amtrak: Berkshire Flyer, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Maple Leaf
	Rhinecliff	Rhinecliff–Kingston	Amtrak: Berkshire Flyer, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Maple Leaf
	Poughkeepsie	Poughkeepsie	Amtrak: Berkshire Flyer, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Lake Shore Limited, Maple Leaf Metro-North Railroad: ■ Hudson Line Dutchess County Public Transit, City of Poughkeepsie Transit, Ulster County Area Transit
	Croton-on-Hudson	Croton–Harmon	Amtrak: Berkshire Flyer, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Lake Shore Limited, Maple Leaf Metro-North Railroad: ■ Hudson Line Bee-Line Bus System
	Yonkers	Yonkers	Amtrak: Berkshire Flyer, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Maple Leaf Metro-North Railroad: ■ Hudson Line Bee-Line Bus System
	New York City	Penn Station	Amtrak (long-distance): Cardinal, Crescent, Lake Shore Limited, Palmetto, Pennsylvanian, Silver Meteor, Silver Star Amtrak (intercity): Acela, Berkshire Flyer, Carolinian, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Keystone Service, Maple Leaf, Northeast Regional, Vermonter LIRR: ■ Main Line, ■ Port Washington Branch NJ Transit: ■ North Jersey Coast Line, ■ Northeast Corridor Line, ■ Gladstone Branch, ■ Montclair-Boonton Line, ■ Morristown Line NYC Subway: ​​​​ MTA Bus

References

Notes

External links

Media related to Adirondack (train) at Wikimedia Commons

• Adirondack – Amtrak

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