Adirondack (train)

The Adirondack is a daily intercity passenger train operated by Amtrak between New York City and Montreal. The scenic route follows the Empire Corridor through the Hudson Valley with major stops in Yonkers, Poughkeepsie, Albany–Rensselaer, and Schenectady. North of Saratoga Springs the route runs between the Adirondack Mountains and Lake Champlain until crossing the Canada–U.S. border at Rouses Point. Trains take approximately 11 hours to travel the 381 mi route.

Canadian track maintenance issues led to the suspension of the Adirondack from June to September in 2023 and 2024.

Operation of the Adirondack is supported by the New York State Department of Transportation and Via Rail. Amtrak reported that Adirondack served 26,892 passengers in fiscal year 2023, down from pre-COVID-19 pandemic ridership of 117,490 in FY2019.

History
At the inception of Amtrak on May 1, 1971, the Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H) 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 main line saw no service. Amtrak service to Montreal began in 1972 with the Montrealer, which ran through Vermont rather than New York.

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. From the outset the train operated with financial support from the state of New York. The train initially operated as a section of the New York–Buffalo Empire State Express.

Initially, the Adirondack used the same routing as its D&H predecessors, running over the former Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad via Watervliet and Mechanicville, New York, and over the Schenectady–Mechanicville freight bypass to Saratoga. With the April 30, 1978, timetable change, the Adirondack dropped both stops but continued to use the route. The train was re-routed via Schenectady on October 29, 1978, but did not start stopping there until January 29, 1979. Both termini have shifted since service began. In Montreal, the Adirondack moved to the Canadian National Railway's Central Station on January 12, 1986. In New York City, the opening of the Empire Connection on April 8, 1991, allowed the Adirondack to serve Penn Station instead of Grand Central.

21st century
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. 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. By early 2017, the United States Congress had passed its necessary enabling legislation. The corresponding Canadian legislation was given royal assent in late 2017 and came into force in 2019.

All trains using the Empire Connection, excluding the Lake Shore Limited, operated into Grand Central Terminal from May 26 to September 4, 2018, to allow work on the Empire Tunnel, the Spuyten Duyvil movable bridge, and Penn Station. For most of the summer of 2019, the northbound Adirondack ran combined with the northbound Maple Leaf due to infrastructure work at Penn Station, splitting in Albany. The two trains ran separately on weekends during July and August.

COVID-19 pandemic and track issues
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. In July 2021, that truncated service was replaced by the resumption of Ethan Allen Express service, which overlaps the Adirondack between New York City and Fort Edward. Weekday service from New York City to Albany resumed on December 5, 2022. Full service resumption to Montreal took place on April 3, 2023; the Port Kent stop remained closed, as service on the Port Kent-Burlington Ferry remained suspended indefinitely.

The Canadian National Railway (CN) owns the Rouses Point Subdivision, a 42 mi section of track that runs from Rouses Point, New York, to the vicinity of Montreal. During the COVID-19 suspension track conditions "deteriorat[ed]", forcing Amtrak to lengthen an already long running time between Rouses Point and Montreal. Citing a concern over heat kinks, CN imposed a 10 mph speed restriction when temperatures exceeded 30 C, leading to one trip over in mid-June taking four hours. On June 26, Amtrak suspended service "until further notice" north of Albany over the track conditions. Amtrak criticized "inconsistent application of CN's historical heat order policy"; CN claimed that Amtrak had failed to pay for maintenance to the track, which Amtrak disputed. Adirondack service was extended to Saratoga Springs on July 24, 2023, to serve the Saratoga Race Course meet. Trains were turned using a CP wye near Saratoga Springs. Montreal service resumed on September 11.

The Adirondack was again suspended north of Saratoga Springs on May 20, 2024, due to unspecified track work. On May 17, 2024, Amtrak and CN announced an agreement under which Amtrak would pay CN to perform track work on the line, which would "mitigate, but not eliminate", heat-related slow orders. The suspension was originally intended to end on June 29; however, in early June it was extended to mid-September.

Equipment
Most Adirondack trains consist of five to seven cars hauled by a locomotive.

The passenger cars are the Amfleet series built by the Budd Company in the mid-1970s to early-1980s. Most trains include a Café car (food service/lounge) and four to six Coach Class cars. Unlike other Empire Corridor trains, the Adirondack does not offer business class seating.

All cars offer complimentary WiFi, an electric outlet (120 V, 60 Hz AC) at each seat, reading lamps, and fold-out tray tables. Passengers self-select seats on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations are required on all trains; tickets may be purchased online, from an agent at some stations, a ticketing machine at most stations, or, at a higher cost, from the conductor on the train.

Between New York City and Albany–Rensselaer, trains are pulled by a GE Genesis P32AC-DM dual-mode diesel locomotive at speeds up to 110 mph. The locomotives operate on third rail electric power in Penn Station and the Empire Connection tunnel and on diesel power for the rest of the route. Between Albany–Rensselaer and Montréal, traditional diesel-only GE Genesis locomotives are used.

The Adirondack debuted in 1974 with D&H equipment, much of it from the 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.

In the coming years all equipment will be replaced with Amtrak Airo trainsets, the railroad's branding of its combination of Siemens Venture passenger cars and a Siemens Charger diesel-electric locomotive. The trainsets for the Adirondack will have six passenger cars, which will include a cab control car, a food service area, and a mix of 2x2 Coach Class and 2x1 Business Class seating. The car closest to the locomotive will have batteries to supply electricity to traction motors in the locomotive when operating in Penn Station and the Empire Connection tunnel, eliminating the need for third rail propulsion. The arrangement will eliminate the time-consuming locomotive change at Albany–Rensselaer.

Route
The Adirondack operates over Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific Kansas City, CSX Transportation, Metro-North Railroad and Amtrak rails:
 * CN St-Hyacinthe Subdivision, Montreal to Southwark: 6.15 mi
 * CN Rouses Point Subdivision, Southwark to Rouses Point: 42.7 mi
 * CPKC Canadian Subdivision, Rouses Point to Ballston: 169.3 mi
 * CPKC 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 11.4 mi