Washington, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik sent a letter to Amtrak President Roger Harris and Canadian National Railway (CN) President and CEO Tracy Robinson expressing deep concern regarding the extended suspension of service of the Amtrak Adirondack Line between Saratoga Springs and Montreal. Stefanik demanded Amtrak and CN provide greater transparency into the rationale behind continued delays of service that our Upstate New York and North Country communities as well as our Canadian neighbors and tourists rely on as a vital source of transportation.
Stefanik also requested Amtrak and CN outline a concrete timeline of the resumption of service of the Adirondack Line in order to provide our communities the certainty of service they deserve. The current suspension of service of the Adirondack Line between Saratoga Springs and Montreal hampers tourism and economic development in our region during popular summer months.
In the letter, Stefanik states, “Over the past year, I have continuously called for Amtrak and CN to come to an agreement and my office has been engaged ceaselessly in advocating to keep the Adirondack Line fully functional. On May 17, 2024, both Amtrak and CN finally announced they reached an agreement to make the track improvements needed to prevent any future summer stoppages of service of the Amtrak Adirondack Line, stating ‘Amtrak and CN Railway are pleased to have resolved the service issues associated with the Adirondack Line between Rouses Point, New York and Montreal’s Central Station. In an agreement signed today, Amtrak will make a payment to CN and CN has agreed to use the settlement payment to undertake track work on its Rouses Point Subdivision for Amtrak’s benefit.’”
Stefanik continues, “While the announcement of an agreement between Amtrak and CN was welcome news, it was short-lived. Initially, Amtrak stated ‘Due to anticipated track work, Amtrak has modified Adirondack service on a short-term basis from May 20 to June 30 and will only operate between New York City and Saratoga Springs.’ However, a few short weeks after the announcement of the agreement, the stoppage of service of the Adirondack Line was extended through Sunday, September 8, 2024. The continued delays in service and lack of transparency from Amtrak and CN for our Upstate New York and North Country communities is completely unacceptable.”
“It's like Charlie Brown with Lucy pulling away the football over and over, only instead of a cartoon it's real,” says Garry Douglas, President of the North Country Chamber of Commerce. “The service is shut down for three years during and well after the pandemic but no work is done to address conditions. Then they restart in April 2023 only to just discover a heat related rail issue a few months later, halting the train for the summer. Then they wait until almost summer 2024 to reach a repair agreement that they now find will take three months instead of the announced six weeks to carry out. Congresswoman Stefanik and Senator Schumer have been steadfast on this and hopefully can obtain some needed accountability.”
“ESPA appreciates Congresswoman Stefanik’s tenacity in continuing to press both Canadian National and Amtrak for more transparency on this matter. We cannot allow a dispute involving less than 40 miles of track to continue disrupting international travel and access to and from the North Country,” said Steve Strauss, Executive Director of the Empire State Passengers Association.
In September 2023, Congresswoman Stefanik sent a letter demanding that Amtrak and CN provide a plan of action to avoid a future summer stoppage of service of the Adirondack Line.
In May 2024, Congresswoman Stefanik announced that following her advocacy, Amtrak and CN reached an agreement to make the track improvements needed to prevent any future summer stoppages of service of Amtrak’s Adirondack Line.
Read the full letter here.
