It's Too Hot for Trains ... in Canada!?!

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Yes, that’s correct: It’s too hot for trains in Canada. Specifically, The Amtrak Adirondack will no longer run from Albany, New York in the country of my birth to Montréal, Quebec, in Canada.

An article posted at Seven Days Vermont on 26 June 2023 provides the news. The headline is Amtrak’s Adirondack Line Won’t Serve the North Country, Montreál ‘Until Further Notice.’

Here’s the lede: “Amtrak’s Adirondack line, which runs between New York City and Montréal daily, will terminate in Albany, New York ‘until further notice’ because of track issues in Québec, according to an Amtrak official.”

The following paragraph indicates that the train service between New York City and Montréal will terminate in Albany, New York “until further notice” because of track issues in Québec. The paragraph quotes an unnamed Amtrak official in reaching this conclusion.

This train route did not run for three years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. After re-opening in April of 2024, it served eight train stations in the U.S. north of Albany, New York, the capital city of New York state. After stopping at the U.S.-Canadian border to check passports, the train would then continue to Montréal’s Central Station. Less than two months after re-opening, the route was closed.

According to an Amtrak spokesperson, Amtrak runs on tracks owned by Canadian National Railway. Canadian National Railway “has implemented reduced speed regulations due to heat.” As a result, Amtrak no longer maintains the route from Albany to Montréal.

This is very inconvenient for a lot of people. This includes people who still believe anthropogenic climate change is a hoax. Hoax or not, there will be no trains from the capital city of New York, USA to the second-largest city in Canada until the climate cools. Don’t hold your breath. Considering we are in the midst of abrupt, irreversible climate change, I’d say the chance of the climate cooling is about zero percent.