Amtrak service connecting New York City and Montreal will resume next month, more than two years after the pandemic halted trains from crossing across the shared border between the U.S. and Canada.
The reopening of Amtrak’s Adirondack line follows the resumption of trains last fall between Seattle and Vancouver, Canada, which was also shuttered because of COVID-19 worries. Last summer, Amtrak reopened full service on the Maple Leaf line, which links New York City and Ontario, Canada.
It has been much tougher to relaunch service between New York and Montreal.
“The Adirondack line’s yearslong closure has been economically harmful to many of the communities along its route,” said U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat from New York.
Towns and cities along the route, one of the most scenic corridors served by Amtrak, have depended on the train service to bring tourists into their communities, officials said.
The Adirondack line had nearly 118,000 riders during the fiscal year before the pandemic, up by more than 5% from the year before, according to a statement jointly released by Gillibrand and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, also of New York.