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Saratoga & North Creek Railway cuts passenger operations
Sadly this is a much deeper cut than the Iowa Pacific press release suggests. There were two full-length round-trip services over the full route. The cut removes the early 700AM North Creek to Saratoga and the late evening return from Saratoga to North Creek every day.
These were the only S&NC trains that allowed for realistic Amtrak connections–to/from the ETHAN ALLEN EXPRESS–from New York and Albany. None of the S&NC timings connected to/from the ADIRONDACK–at least not without very long waits–and now none do without an overnight in Saratoga.
The surviving 1000AM northbound from Saratoga and the 345PM southbound from North Creek do allow ETHAN ALLEN connections from/to Rutland, but nothing else.
IP has of course to best meet its own needs, but this is a sad precedent. One of the few tourist railroads well integrated as part of the national network has now abanoned that pretense.
The Maine Eastern connects with the DOWNEASTER on late summer/fall weekends at Brunswick, ME for Bath, Wiscasset and Rockland. The Grand Canyon Ry connects to the SW CHIEF at Williams Jct with long layovers and a short van transfer. The Western Maryland Scenic can be used same-day at Cumberland for CAPITAL LTD passengers from the west and going out in the evening to the west. From DC and overnight is essential both ways. For now that’s about it.
Is this the first fruits of the recent buy-out of IP Holdings? Who is now calling the shots there?
if riders are up, why cut weakly runs?!
if riders are up, why cut weakly runs?!
I’ve always said that Mr Ellis and his partners would run passenger trains until the money they made – from selling that previously moribund line in the SW that happened to be near fracking operations – ran out.
Looks like that may have been true.