Adirondack (train)

Adirondack

Adirondack train #69 at Saratoga Springs station.
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Predecessor	Laurentian (D&H)
First service	August 5, 1974
Current operator(s)	Amtrak
Ridership	361 daily 132,000 total (FY12)[1]
Route
Start	New York
End	Montreal, Quebec
Distance travelled	381 miles (613 km)
Average journey time	11 hours
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	68, 69
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)
Track owner(s)	MNCR, CSXT, CP/D&H, and CN
Route map Legend Adirondack Legend Dist. Station 0 mi 0 km Montreal Central Station Montreal Windsor Station pre-1986 4 mi 6 km Saint-Lambert 48 mi 77 km Quebec New York 49 mi 79 km Rouses Point 72 mi 116 km Plattsburgh 85 mi 137 km Port Kent(seasonal) 112 mi 180 km Westport 123 mi 198 km Port Henry 140 mi 225 km Ticonderoga 162 mi 261 km Whitehall Ethan Allen Express 184 mi 296 km Fort Edward 203 mi 327 km Saratoga Springs Pre-1978 Mechanicville Watervliet-Colonie Empire Corridor 222 mi 357 km Schenectady 240 mi 386 km Albany – Rensselaer 268 mi 431 km Hudson 293 mi 472 km Rhinecliff – Kingston 309 mi 497 km Poughkeepsie 349 mi 562 km Croton-on-Hudson 367 mi 591 km Yonkers Grand Central Terminal pre-1991 Northeast Corridor to Washington Union Station 381 mi 613 km New York Penn Station Northeast Corridor to Boston South Station

The Adirondack is a passenger train operated daily 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 the Adirondack Mountains.^[2] The Adirondack operates as train 68 towards New York, and as 69 from New York to Montreal.

The Adirondack service is financed by the New York State Department of Transportation. The Adirondack service suffers from numerous delays along the route because almost none of the trackage is owned by Amtrak, and also because the route crosses an international boundary. 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 (CP Rail) segment.^[3]

During fiscal year 2015, the Adirondack carried over 132,345 passengers. The train had a total revenue of $7,453,664 during FY2015.^[1]

History

The Adirondack at Saratoga Springs in 1980

At the inception of Amtrak in 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. The Adirondack began running on August 5, 1974, from Grand Central Terminal in New York to Albany, then over the D&H's line to Windsor Station in Montreal. From the outset the train operated with financial support from the state of New York.^[4]

Route details

The Adirondack operates over Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific Railway, CSX Transportation, Metro-North Railroad, and Amtrak rails:^[5]

• CN St-Hyacinthe Subdivision, Montreal to Saint-Lambert (6.15 mi)
• CN Rouses Point Subdivision, Saint-Lambert to Rouses Point (42.7 mi)
• CP Canadian Subdivision, Rouses Point to Ballston (169.3 mi)
• CP Freight Subdivision, Ballston to Schenectady (4.6 mi)
• CSX Hudson Subdivision, Schenectady to Poughkeepsie (trackage leased by Amtrak) (86.3 mi)
• Metro-North Hudson Line, Poughkeepsie to Spuyten Duyvil (61.8 mi)
• Amtrak Empire Connection, Spuyten Duyvil to Penn Station

Note: From 1974 to 1986, the Adirondack used CP Rail's Windsor Station. Until the Empire Connection was built in 1991, the train served Grand Central Terminal instead of Penn Station in New York City. There is a short distance of track between Albany and Schenectady that allows for 110 MPH (177 km/h) operations.

Station stops

State/Province	Town/City	Station	Connections/Notes
Québec	Montréal	Gare Centrale	AMT: Deux-Montagnes Line, Mont-Saint-Hilaire Line, Mascouche Line STM Bus Routes: 36, 61, 74, 75, 107, 150, 168, 178, 410, 420, 430, 435, 715, 747 Montreal Metro lines: Orange Metro line Corridor, Ocean, Montreal – Jonquière train, Montreal – Senneterre train
	Saint-Lambert	Saint-Lambert	AMT: Mont-Saint-Hilaire Line RTL: 1, 6, 55, 106 Via Rail: Corridor, Ocean
Canada–United States border
New York	Rouses Point	Rouses Point	none
	Plattsburgh	Plattsburgh	Clinton County Public Transit: route CCC / Shopper Shuttle, Grand Isle, Mall / Gov't Center Express Shuttle, Momot & Duken, Seton Express, North City, Saturday Shuttle, South City, West City, Ausable, Champlain / Rouses Point, Peru. All buses departed from nearby Government Center bus terminal.
	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: connection service to Lake Placid.
	Port Henry	Port Henry	none
	Ticonderoga	Fort Ticonderoga	The Ticonderoga Ferry: seasonal ferry service to Shoreham, Vermont.
	Whitehall	Whitehall	none
	Fort Edward	Fort Edward-Glens Falls	Amtrak: Ethan Allen Express GGFT: 4, Train-Catcher Service
	Saratoga Springs	Saratoga Springs	Amtrak: Ethan Allen Express CDTA: NX Northway Xpress, 471, 472, 474 Saratoga and North Creek Railroad: Adirondack Limited, Hudson Explorer. Daily service in summer time. Friday to Sunday only in winter time.
	Schenectady	Schenectady	Amtrak: Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Lake Shore Limited, Maple Leaf
	Rensselaer	Albany-Rensselaer	Amtrak: Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Lake Shore Limited, Maple Leaf CDTA: NX Northway Express, 14, 15, 24. Engine Change from P32AC-DM to a P42 Diesel or vice versa
	Hudson	Hudson	Amtrak: Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Maple Leaf
	Rhinecliff	Rhinecliff-Kingston	Amtrak: Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Maple Leaf
	Poughkeepsie	Poughkeepsie	Amtrak: Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Lake Shore Limited, Maple Leaf Dutchess LOOP: A, B, C, D, E, Poughkeepsie RailLink City of Poughkeepsie Transit: Main Street, Shoppers' Special UCAT Ulster-Poughkeepsie LINK Metro-North Railroad: Hudson Line
	Croton-on-Hudson	Croton–Harmon	Amtrak: Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Lake Shore Limited, Maple Leaf Bee-Line: 10, 11, 14 Metro-North Railroad: Hudson Line
	Yonkers	Yonkers	Amtrak: Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Maple Leaf Bee-Line: 6, 9, 25, 32, 91 (seasonal service) Metro-North Railroad: Hudson Line
	New York City	Penn Station	Amtrak: Acela Express, Cardinal, Carolinian, Crescent, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Keystone Service, Lake Shore Limited, Maple Leaf, Northeast Regional, Palmetto, Pennsylvanian, Silver Meteor, Silver Star, 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: 1 2 3 A C E trains NYC Transit buses: M4, M7, M20, M34 / M34A Select Bus Service, Q32

Equipment

D&H ALCO PAs in 1975.

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. Four D&H ALCO PA diesel locomotives hauled the 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.^[6]

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

• 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]
• 1 Full-length Dome car. (Certain runs only) (Albany to Montreal Only. The Great Dome cannot fit into New York Penn Station due to tunnel height restrictions.)

The Adirondack, unlike other Empire Service trains and the Maple Leaf, does not offer business class seating.^[2]

Proposed high-speed line

Exchange of cars at the Albany-Rensselaer train station.

There is a proposal for a Montreal—New York City high-speed train. On October 6, 2005, the Albany Times-Union reported that New York Governor George Pataki and Quebec Premier Jean Charest "called for the creation of high-speed rail service between Montreal and New York City as a way to boost the regional economy during the third Quebec-New York Economic Summit [on October 4]". Little progress seems to have been made since then, and the Federal Railroad Administration has instead preferred a link between Montreal and Boston, despite the fact that independent ridership analyses have suggested that the New York state route would be much more promising.^[7]

In popular culture

In the fourth season of the TV sitcom Friends, in the episode "The One with the Girl from Poughkeepsie," Ross Geller falls asleep on the train, ending up in Montreal when traveling to Poughkeepsie to visit a girlfriend.

The song "Anna-Lisa" by Prozzak plays an announcement of the train's Montreal-bound stops in the background.

See also

• Laurentian
• Montrealer
• Maple Leaf (Amtrak)

References

1. "Amtrak Sets New Ridership Record" (PDF). Amtrak. 10 October 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
2. "ADIRONDACK". TrainWeb. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
3. Amtrak Route on-time performance for Adirondack service
4. "Montreal Train Run Commences Today". Schenectady Gazette. August 5, 1974. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
5. Roberts, Earl W.; Stremes, David P., eds. (2012). Canadian Trackside Guide. Bytown Railway Society, Inc. ISSN 0829-3023.
6. Amtrak (August 5, 2014). "Celebrating 40 Years of the Adirondack". Retrieved 2014-08-05.
7. Yonah Freemark (2009-08-03). "Connecting Montréal to the American Rail Network". The Transport Politic. Retrieved 2014-01-26.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

• Amtrak – Adirondack