The Amtrak Adirondack line returns three years after the pandemic suspended service

Amtrak’s passenger rail service has resumed with daily trains once again running between New York City, Albany, Plattsburgh, and Montreal. The Adirondack Line is back up and running more than three years after the COVID pandemic closed the border and shut down this vital link connecting New York City to the Adirondacks and Montreal. North Country Congresswoman Elise Stefanik and other political leaders have been pushing Amtrak to resume service since the Northern Border reopened to cross border traffic more than a year ago.

The Congresswoman was joined by Amtrak’s President, Roger Harris, who rode the Adirondack Line from New York City to Plattsburgh. Harris says several issues, including getting crews hired and trained kept the Adirondack Line shut down longer than any other of Amtrak’s routes. Harris says with ridership increasing in recent years before the pandemic, along with new funding from the bi-partisan Infrastructure Deal passed by Congress, Amtrak is looking at buying a new fleet of modern, more comfortable trains in the coming years, and adding more routes.

Along with the return of the cross-border train, Congresswoman Stefanik and business and political leaders from the North Country have been calling on the United States and Canada to get the rest of their border policies back in sync. Currently, Canadians who haven’t had a COVID vaccination, cannot enter the US at land crossings.