Discussion sur les activités d’Amtrak à Montréal
Projets en planification, en construction, ou… oubliés
Prédédouanement
Train rapide (THV) Montréal-New York
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Dénichés sur le web… et à prendre avec beaucoup de légèreté et bien des pincettes… 
Je sais que nous sommes sur un fil de Via Rail… Je vous partage tout de même une carte de la réponse d’Amtrak au plan d’infrastructure proposé par Biden (au cas où si cela pourrait vous intéresser) :
Il y aurait la proposition d’un nouveau service entre Montréal et St. Albans (vers Burlington… , pour se rendre vers Boston) :
Pour revenir au sujet des TGV… et je crois qu’il faut être prudent quant à la réalisation de l’ensemble de ces corridors, voici une carte réalisée par Alon Levy, “expert en transport public”, sur ce qui serait un plan pour des TGV [nord-]américain, incluant le tronçon Montréal - Ottawa (!?) - Toronto… vers Détroit :
Vu sur Rail613
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Le prolongement du Vermonter vers Montréal est déjà dans les plans depuis plusieurs années. C’est l’enjeu de la construction d’un centre de prédédouanement à la Gare Centrale qui ralentit les choses.
Ça ne débloquera pas avant 2022
Capital costs for extending the Vermonter to Montreal are expected to be refined in a study to be completed
in 2022.
L’édition 2021 du Rail Plan (gros PDF) du Vermont vise l’ajout de 2 trains par jour vers Montréal à moyen terme.
Les prévisions d’achalandage sont importantes:
À long terme, le Vermont entend prolonger le Ethan Allen Express jusqu’à Essex Junction. Il a déjà été évoqué que ce train en partance de NYC puisse se rendre un jour à Montréal.
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Windsor, juste en face de Detroit.
Le projet de douane américaine à la Gare Centrale vient d’obtenir du financement pour son étude.
Ce projet est nécessaire pour le prolongement du Vermonter jusqu’à Montréal. Il va également soustraire une heure au trajet de l’Adirondack entre NYC et Montréal.
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L’étude n’a pas déjà été fait? Il me semble que Obama et Trudeau/Harper l’ont annoncé.
Une plan conceptuel avait été développé par Amtrak en 2012.
Mais ça avait stallé jusqu’à temps que l’entente de prédédouanement soit finalement ratifiée par les deux pays en août 2019.
Ensuite, il y a eu la pandémie qui est venue suspendre tout potentiel de progrès.
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J’avoue que moi aussi j’ai de la difficulté à voir en quoi consiste l’étude de faisabilité dans ce cas-ci. Il ne reste pas tout simplement qu’à faire les plans préliminaires en collaboration avec la gare, ASFC/CBP et Amtrak, chiffrer le tout et ensuite signer le bail et débuter le projet? On ne parle pas de construire une nouvelle gare ou de déplacer le terminal d’Amtrak dans un autre lieu, on parle de réaménager un quai et des espaces secondaires…
Selon le document budgétaire, l’enveloppe de 1 million servira aussi à la conception des plans et devis, donc on peut espérer que ladite étude de faisabilité n’est pas d’énorme envergure et que les étapes se succèderont rapidement.
La reconfiguration des espaces n’est pas nécéssairement triviale. C’est un réaménagement majeur d’un espace souterrain qui implique l’ajout d’ascenseurs, et j’imagine des travaux de bonne envergure au niveau de la relocalisation d’infrastructures électrique/télécom/ventilation/plomberie/sécurité incendie.
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Cet été, le train Ethan Allen Express qui dessert présentement le parcours New York → Rutland sera enfin prolongé jusqu’à Burlington, avec un temps de parcours total d’environ 7h30
l’article mentionne:
While the Ethan Allen Express will not go north of Burlington anytime soon, the state’s long-term goal is for the Vermonter’s route to be extended from St. Albans to Montréal in coming years, Delabruere said.
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Do you know if there’s any news about the Adirondack to return (NYC/Albany/Montreal)?
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Amtrak parlait de cet été, mais ça semble de moins en moins probable. C’est un problème de manque de main d’oeuvre (entre autres à cause de l’obligation vaccinale pour passer la frontière) et de trains.
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On est loin du retour du Vermonter… :’(
Hey maybe at the same time as the REM…
NY: Adirondack Line slated for spring return
Nov. 23, 2022
The rail line, which would travel from New York City to Montreal and make local stops in Plattsburgh and Rouses Point, was initially suspended at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020.
By Carly Newton
Source The Press-Republican, Plattsburgh, N.Y. (TNS)
Nov. 20—PLATTSBURGH — Amtrak’s Adirondack Line is presumed to return to service in the spring.
The rail line, which would travel from New York City to Montreal and make local stops in Plattsburgh and Rouses Point, was initially suspended at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020, when severe restrictions were put on border crossings with Canada.
‘NOW IS THE TIME’
As border relations gradually returned to normal over the last several months, officials have called for the Adirondack Line’s restoration.
In a visit to Plattsburgh City Hall Oct. 11, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand had expressed her support for the service to be reinstated.
“It’s really important that we restore the rail line,” Gillibrand said at the time, “so that we can get that Amtrak back in operation and also normalize the requirements for crossing.”
“I feel that now is the time, Canada just normalized vis-à-vis us, now we have to normalize it vis-à-vis them, so I think it’s the time and it helps our communities grow. Especially around the holidays, this is a time when people like to visit places, to shop, they have a little time off, like it’s an important time to have easy transportation between the United States and Canada.”
COMING NEXT YEAR
However, it doesn’t seem as if the rail line will return for this holiday season like Gillibrand had hoped.
President of the North Country Chamber of Commerce Garry Douglas said it will be next year.
“This week Senator Gillibrand spoke with the President of Amtrak who reviewed a number of challenges being addressed, indicating that service is now projected to return in the spring,” Douglas said.
“While we are disappointed at how long Amtrak is taking in this instance, having resumed Toronto service last summer, it is good to have an updated time table and we will continue to work with our federal representatives to press for the earliest possible restart in 2023.”
VALUABLE OPTION
Douglas added that the return of the service would be a beneficial option for many in the region.
“The North Country Chamber continues to press for resumption of Amtrak’s Adirondack service to and from Montreal,” he said.
“Besides being one of just three U.S.-Canada passenger rail links across the continent, it has been a valuable option in the past for tourists wanting a scenic way to come to the Adirondacks and is also used by other travelers including many downstate college students coming to Plattsburgh. Our U.S. Senators, Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik have been joined in pressing for progress.”
City of Plattsburgh Mayor Chris Rosenquest called the news “exciting” after a long time of waiting.
“We have been waiting for a couple years now for it to reopen without, really, having any hopes, to be honest, that the federal government was going to move any quicker than they wanted to. Just the notion that it was in the works was much more positive momentum than we had heard before,” Rosenquest said.
“Despite that, we’re happy that it is going to be open in the spring.”
STUDENTS, FLIGHTS
Rosenquest also hailed the benefits of having another travel option in the area.
“I think the thing that I’ve heard the most, and that it has impacted the most, are the students coming up … from downstate and then also the Canadian travelers that had used the station to travel from Montreal to Plattsburgh for flights,” he said.
“For us here, just going and jumping on the train and heading down to New York City is a nice option, rather than trying to drive or even ride the bus.”
When asked for comment on the Adirondack Line, Senior Public Relations Manager for Amtrak in New York, Jason Abrams, said “We’re actively engaged with our congressional delegations regarding the return of Adirondack service and continue to work with the appropriate Host Railroads operation agreements.”
Abrams didn’t provide any definitive dates for the projected return.
https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/news/21288111/ny-adirondack-line-slated-for-spring-return
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Amtrak expected to resume Montreal-New York City train in the spring
The service was suspended in March 2020 as borders began closing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Published Dec 15, 2022
The departure board at Penn Station in New York City. Reviving service with Montreal would be a shot in the arm for the tourism industry. Photo by Spencer Platt /GETTY
Next stop, Penn Station?
The Adirondack line — a popular train route linking Montreal and New York City — will reopen in 2023, probably in the spring, U.S. officials say.
Amtrak suspended daily service between Montreal’s Central Station and Manhattan’s Penn Station in March 2020 as borders closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has met with Amtrak leaders and has been assured it will restart in the spring,” Garry Douglas, CEO of the North Country Chamber of Commerce, told the Montreal Gazette on Wednesday.
Douglas, whose organization is based in Plattsburgh, N.Y., described the re-establishment of the line as “yet another overdue step toward normalizing cross-border travel that was so interrupted by the pandemic.”
Reviving the train would be a shot in the arm for Montreal’s tourism industry, battered by a drop in cross-border travel.
Citing U.S. reports of a 2023 reopening, U.S. Congresswoman Elise Stefanik is pressing Amtrak for a firm timeline, complaining in a recent letter to the railway about its “continued ambiguity.”
U.S. officials are also demanding Amtrak launch a marketing campaign to entice travellers and rebuild ridership.
Running along Lake Champlain and the Hudson River, the Adirondack was once described as one of the top 10 most scenic rail trips in the world by National Geographic Traveler magazine.
The train is popular with Montrealers and New Yorkers, with 117,000 passengers taking the trip in 2019, a five-per-cent jump from the previous year.
Aside from tourists travelling between Montreal, Albany and New York City, the train is also used by students who attend Upstate New York colleges, as well as by visitors to the Adirondacks, said Douglas.
Amtrak has already revived its two other trains that serve Canada. The Maple Leaf line, between Toronto and New York City, resumed in June. The Cascades service — linking Vancouver with Oregon and Washington — was revived in September.
“Amtrak is committed to restoring service of the Adirondack between New York City and Montreal and all stops in between as soon as possible,” said spokesperson Jason Abrams. But he said service will not return until at least the spring
The railway is actively hiring and training onboard and mechanical employees to work on the Adirondack, he added.
The delay in resurrecting the Montreal train is due to several complications, officials said.
They include the need for Amtrak to recertify lines and personnel, and finalize arrangements with U.S. and Canadian border agencies, Central Station, and Canadian National and Canadian Pacific, which own some of the tracks used by the Adirondack.
Though scenic, the Adirondack’s travel time is long. The 600-kilometre voyage takes 10 or more hours — about four more than a car trip.
Douglas said improvements are being pursued in rail speeds between Albany and New York, and some are pushing for track improvements between the Canada-U. S. border and Montreal. He noted the stretch through Adirondack Park can’t be sped up due to the natural environment.
For more than a decade, officials on both sides of the border have discussed the idea of eliminating the requirement that the Adirondack stop at the U.S. border, a process that slows down the trip. Instead, customs and immigration could be handled in Montreal.
In March, the Quebec government said it would contribute $1 million to a feasibility study and plans to add customs centres at Central Station. It said the move could shave an hour or two from the Adirondack travel time.
Douglas said once the Adirondack resumes, “we will restart advocacy for eventual preclearance of Amtrak passengers in Montreal which can eliminate or reduce the stoppage at the border.”
The U.S.-Canada Pre-Clearance Agreement, brought into force in Canada and the U.S. in 2019, “sets the stage for such provisions, as already done at airports, and this would directly speed the overall trip,” Douglas added.
A new Montreal-Boston overnight train is also being discussed.
This summer, Canadian and American elected officials and business people met to hash out the proposal.
It would be a two-stage project — first Montreal-Sherbrooke, then a link to Boston, via Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, including a stop at Old Orchard Beach, a popular beach destination for Quebecers.
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Excellente nouvelle. Il y a quelques années pour me rendre dans la BIG APPLE , je voulais faire changement du traditionnel vol Dorval/LaGuardia, j’avais alors opté pour le train. Wow ! confort impeccable , service de premier ordre, et les panoramas à travers l’état de New York sont de toute beauté.
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Je viens de voir un train d’Amtrak quitter la Gare centrale.
La locomotive ne tirait que 3 voitures de passagers.
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Pour le peu que ça vaut, ce soir au coin de Bridge/Wellington j’ai moi aussi vu un train d’Amtrak quittant le centre-ville.
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Amtrak’s service from Montreal to New York City will resume within the next month after a three-year hiatus.
Read more
New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik announced the resumption of the Adirondack train line Friday, saying Amtrak has committed to fully reopening the line by Apr. 3.
The route runs from Montreal to New York City, including stops in St-Lambert, Que. and the N.Y. cities of Plattsburgh, Ticonderoga, Albany and Poughkeepsie. The Montreal – Albany portion of the route has been closed since the onset of the pandemic in 2020. Service between Albany and New York City resumed on Dec. 5, 2022.
The Amtrak Adirondack line “serves a significant economic driver, connecting tourists and our Canadian neighbors, to our region,”’ said Stefanik in a news release.
Billing the Adirondack line as “one of the world’s most scenic train rides,” the resumption of service re-establishes one of three passenger train links between the U.S. and Canada and “represents another important step in normalizing cross-border travel post-pandemic,” said Garry Douglas, president of the North Country Chamber of Commerce.
In July, Amtrak resumed its Maple Leaf line from New York City to Toronto.
Amtrak announced earlier this week it would resume service on the Cascades line between Vancouver and Portland, Ore.
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Another (similar) article
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