Stephen J. Gardner
President and Chief Executive Officer, Amtrak
60 Massachusetts Ave NE
Washington, DC 20002
Dear Mr. Gardner:
We write to you to express our concern regarding the resumption of Amtrak’s Adirondack line. This line is essential to the economy of the North Country region of New York and it is imperative that Amtrak resumes its operation as soon as is safe and feasible.
First, we were happy to see that Amtrak reopened full service on the Maple Leaf line on June 27. Ontario is a vital economic partner with New York, and this line has and will continue to serve as an essential conduit for economic and cultural relations.
While the Maple Leaf service resumption announcement was extremely heartening and we understand the challenges that Amtrak faces in reopening service lines, we hoped to see additional, similar news regarding the Adirondack line. This line provides critical service to the residents of New York’s North Country, connecting them to large economic centers such as New York’s Capital Region, New York City, and Montreal. And though the users of other lines generally have alternative modes of transportation that can mitigate the impact of a line suspension, the residents of the North Country have few.
In Fiscal Year 2019, the last full fiscal year before the Covid-19 Pandemic, the Adirondack saw 117,490 riders, an increase of 5.1 percent compared to FY18. This is a large economic driver in the community, as total tourism accounts for over 16 percent of the Adirondack region’s share of employment in 2020. Hamilton and Essex counties depend on tourism heavily, with 44.7 and 36.8 percent of all employment sustained by visitors respectively.
Recently, it has come to our attention that train and engine crews for the Adirondack line will begin requalification in August. Any delays in the resumption of service would be detrimental to the local economy, especially with some residents lacking alternative methods of