After months of advocacy, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced that Amtrak will reopen the Adirondack line, the upstate rail service between Montreal and New York City that has been suspended for more than two years due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Schumer and Gillibrand said the Adirondack line provides critical service for the Capital Region and North Country, connecting residents with larger economic centers such as New York’s Capital Region, New York City, and Montreal.
“I am proud to announce that after months of advocacy Amtrak has heeded our calls and will officially reopen the Adirondack Line between the Empire State and Canada, finally restarting this vital economic engine for the North Country and Capital Region,” said Senator Schumer. “From Plattsburgh to Poughkeepsie and into Penn Station, the Adirondack Line runs through some of the most beautiful parts of Upstate New York and resumption of this service will help pump vital tourism dollars into Main Streets across Upstate NY. All ABOARD for the Capital Region and North Country economies!”
“The Adirondack line’s years-long closure has been economically harmful to many of the communities along its route,” said Senator Gillibrand. “I urged Amtrak to reopen the line for months and I’m proud to be announcing that it will be resuming service ahead of the busy summer tourist season. This is an important development and I will keep fighting to provide the North Country with the resources and services it needs to thrive.”
In FY19, the last full fiscal year before the pandemic impacted the State of New York, Amtrak’s Adirondack line had 117,490 riders, a 5.1 percent increase in ridership compared to FY18. The rail service also provides tourists traveling from economic centers such as New York’s Capital Region, New York City, and Montreal with access to the North Country, boosting the region’s economy. In 2020, tourism accounted for 44.7 percent of employment in Hamilton County, 36.8 percent in Essex County, and over 16 percent in the Adirondack region as a whole.
-via Press Release