According to established schedules, there are no passenger rail connections between Montreal and the town of Whitehall in upstate New York from May 20 to June 30.
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In an email sent on Saturday, Amtrak and CN announced that they had reached an agreement. The American company will pay for the maintenance work that will be carried out by the Canadian company.
“Adirondack service will be modified on a short-term basis over the next few weeks to ensure the work is completed. These will increase the reliability of the service during this summer and in the future,” reads the joint statement.
Both companies have confirmed the six-week period during which the service will be interrupted. Customers indicated on social media that they had been reimbursed by Amtrack.
This is not the first time Adirondack train service has been interrupted. Last summer, Amtrak decided that its Adirondack Line trains 68 and 69 would now only run between New York and Albany “until further notice.”
The company had only just relaunched its New York-Montreal route in April 2023 after shutting it down three years previously due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before the pandemic, more than 110,000 passengers boarded the Adirondack each year, according to data from the group Rail Passengers Association.
Amtrak explained its decision by the restrictions surrounding the speed imposed by Canadian National (CN) on its rails due to the heat. This now implies a limit of 16 km/h over a distance of around sixty kilometers, i.e. between the Canadian-American border and the Central Station in Montreal, when the temperature risks reaching 30 degrees, which could cause injuries. delays of up to three hours.
The rail line between New York and the upstate is the responsibility of Amtrak. As it is in better condition, speed is less often limited by hot summer temperatures.
Canadian National had criticized Amtrak for not paying for maintenance work on the railway line allowing it to withstand hot summer temperatures.
The service suspension also affects Plattsburgh and Ticonderoga, New York, Amtrak said.
Reservations are still accepted for the period beginning June 30.
“CN planned the work for several months. It will strive to carry them out quickly and prudently in 2024,” the two companies said.
In the meantime, tourists can still travel to New York by bus. Two companies, Greyhound and Megabus, have daily connections between the two cities.
