Do we know if the Adirondack will shift to Gare Lucien L'Allier near the old Windsor Terminal, or has space been set aside in Gare Centrale? Re: the re-location of personnel, this won't be such a huge drag because there is already a large contingent of US Border agents working at Montréal Trudeau airport at the US pre-clearance facility. Perhaps this means a few more jobs for US agents, and two extra shifts downtown; no big deal really.
+1
Right now, the Adirondack is scheduled to allow one hour for border checks at Rouses Point, NY. A slightly longer stop (albeit cushioned to allow for delays accrued on the journey north) is scheduled for Canadian checks at Lacolle, QC. Over the last four days, southbound train #68 has arrived at Plattsburgh, NY between 2 and 25 minutes late, so it's usually a given that one hour is not enough, especially at weekends or over holidays when the train can be sold out.
No shift to Lucien L'Allier. The facility is being built at Gare Centrale.
Only if someone comes up with the big bucks that CN wants to run it to Montreal. It is not covered by the special agreement that Amtrak has with CN for Amtrak crew to operate the Adirondack to Montreal. Another item to be worked before anything can happen with the Vermonter can get into this act. The NY/VT/QC troika are interested, but it all depends.. as they say.
The other possibility being considered is to run what is primarily a Boston - Montreal train on the VT corridor. Very early stages of consideration on that. Lots needs to happen before that comes to pass.
Vancouver does not really have much of a sterile area. They start border checks for departure when the train is pretty much ready to receive passengers, or let people hang out on the fenced off platform for a bit.
Correct. St. Lambert stop will be gone.
A Washington - NYC - Montreal overnight train would be awesome. I remember taking the train to Montreal from DC a few years back - such a hassle to have to leave at 3:15am from Union station! Though I guess the trade off is that an overnight train would go through the Adirondacks at night - which is gorgeous in the fall.
Vermont's interest is in having daytime service to and from Montreal. A Vermonter originating/terminating in Montreal would allow Montrealers to make day trips to VT with early morning departures to VT and return trips to Montreal in the evening. Vermonters could make overnight and weekend trips to Montreal. A Vermonter extended to Montreal also allows a single seat ride from Stamford, Hartford, Springfield MA and VT to Montreal. Why not have 2 trains covering entirely different routes between NYC and Montreal? Most people in NYC will take the Adirondack to Montreal, but a Vermonter extended to Montreal main purpose would be to provide access to VT from Montreal and south of VT, not for WAS-NYP to Montreal through traffic. Although there would be some.
The northbound Adirondack takes 4 hours on the schedule to cover the 72 miles from Plattsburg NY to Montreal. If there are no border stops and no longer a stop at St. Lambert, even with padding left in, that suggest that could be cut to 2 hours or less.
Not to rush to Senator Schumer's defense...but in point of fact, while it's an "election year" in some quarters, Senator Schumer himself is not up for re-election until 2016.
According to the Great American Stations website, the St. Lambert stop had a whopping 1,405 riders in FY2011. That's less than 2 riders a day in each direction.
And if someone can come up with a few Canadian and US bucks to fix the rock and roll at 20mph track from Roues Point to Cantic, and put in a controlled switch at Rouses Point and Cantic, so that flagman does not have to get off, set and reset switches, they could cut another 15 to 20 minutes I suppose.
I don't see why split trains or trying to merge a Boston to Montreal train with the often late LSL would be a good idea. I see too many posts here about tagging on this once a day train or that daily train. The goal should be to increase ridership by increasing frequency, schedule flexibility, and relibility, not trying to have 1 train do everything.
Of course the Vermonter should stay a day train. The purpose is to provide transportation to and within VT and central New England from south of NYC and, if a Montreal extension can be worked out, from Montreal. The WAS/NYC to Montreal distances are not really suitable for over night sleeper travel, until or unless we get a major expansion of service along the routes. With enough demand to support an overnight sleeper service.
If NY State is going to be stalled by CSX on plans and projects for 90 or 110 mph tracks for the western Empire corridor, they may turn more attention and state funds in the mean time to the Adirondack corridor from Schenectady to Montreal. Go ahead with the congestion relief and modest improvements projects, but they won't consume that much funding. After many years, the state and Amtrak will have control of the southern Empire corridor with the funding to do many of the long wanted improvements. So many of those items can be checked off the to do list in the next several years. So why not turn to improvements for the Adirondack service?
Well Amtrak just filed a complaint against them for their handling of the City of New Orleans.
I guess that the CN won't be upgrading the track for Amtrak, then, unless they have other reasons to upgrade, or if they don't have to pay for it at all, no favours.
Now, if they'd just do the same thing for the Maple Leaf.
Unlikely to happen for the Maple Leaf, because it is a full-fledged VIA train funded by VIA in Canada. It therefore cannot be run as a sealed train from Niagara Falls NY to Toronto ON, without losing VIA sponsorship. Hence C&I inspection has to happen at the border.
The customs facility at the Montreal station is not being built and won't be staffed for free. The Canadian or Quebec government is providing funding for it. If there are poor condition tracks and connections on the Canadian side that seriously slow down the train that can be fixed with a modest amount of funding by the provincial or Canadian governments, the US side may strongly nudge the Canadian government officials to provide the funding. The tourist, leisure, and business travel across the border is going both ways.
Looked up the 1982 Amtrak schedule for the Adirondack and Montrealer. Depressing just how much longer the Adirondack takes NYP-MTR than it did 30 years ago. Back then, the northbound Adirondack departed Grand Central at 10:35 AM, arrived MTR 7:13 PM. Yes, 8 hours and 45 minutes, not the close to 11 hours today. The later morning departure from NYG presumably allowed for connections from NYP via a jaunt on the subway. If up to several hours is taken off the Adirondack trip time, moving the morning departure from NYP to 9:30 AM or later would allow for easier connections from the south.
Yes, and a very decrepit one at that.
I think these timings just made the argument for the Montrealer working as an overnight route. I'd like to note, regarding my LSL suggestion, that WB/NB it would make sense. SB/EB, however, I definitely see the issue...and of course, trying to run one without the other would require some real creativity in equipment/crew moves, as this isn't the NEC.
