By Railfan & Railroad Staff

A temporary suspension of Amtrak’s Adirondack between Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and Montreal, has been extended into the fall, the Adirondack Explorer reports. 

Last summer, the Adirondack was plagued with slow orders due to heat restrictions on tracks owned by Canadian National in Quebec. This spring, CN began an extensive work program to correct that and as a result, Adirondack service north of Saratoga Springs was suspended until the end of this month. But now it appears that the suspension has been extended to September, meaning passengers will be unable to travel between New York City and Montreal, or reach the northern part of New York, until fall. The news was a disappointment to officials with the North Country Chamber of Commerce. 

“All we can do is accept this comedy of mismanagement by Amtrak and hope that this time the early September target for resolution is real,” chamber president Garry Douglas told the Adirondack Explorer. “Tourists, students and others keep showing they’re ready to return to the service and miss it, but it’s like Charlie Brown with Lucy and the football. And so we lose another summer, which clearly didn’t need to happen.”