Inside Amtrak's Adirondack Train From New York City to Montreal

Nov 10, 2023

In 2020, when the world stood still in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, so too did international travel. Airlines grounded flights, the US and Canada imposed travel restrictions, and Amtrak shuttered its cross-border train, the Adirondack line.

In April, a full three years later, Amtrak officially resumed train travel between Canada and the US, finally reinstating the Adirondack line between New York City and Montreal. A newfound fan of train travel myself, I booked a ticket in coach — this line's only seating option — to see what the international train is like.

For $140 roundtrip, I spent nearly 12 hours on the Adirondack line, which passes through the Hudson Valley and hugs the border of Vermont until it crosses into Québec. From start to finish, here's what the trip is like.

Like most Amtrak trains leaving New York, my train was scheduled to depart from the Moynihan Train Hall, a brand-new, $1.6 billion station that opened in 2021.

The Adirondack line, according to Amtrak's website, is always scheduled to leave New York City at 8:40 a.m. and arrives at Montreal's Gare Central at 8:16 p.m.

One of travelers' biggest qualms with the new Moynihan Train Hall is its design — there are few benches in the station, making it difficult to relax before a long train ride.

The one respite passengers have is the ticketed seating area, which is where I headed as soon as I arrived. My visit didn't last long, though, because when I showed my digital ticket to the attendant, he told me I'd need a physical ticket to board the train to Montreal. Surprised, I hurried off to the ticket counter.

Stopping by the ticketed waiting room changed the course of my trip.

Had the employee not told me I needed a physical ticket, I would have dilly-dallied right up until boarding, and completely missed this important part of the process — and, perhaps, my train.

After waiting in line for a few minutes to get my boarding pass, an employee directed me to a waiting area for people heading to Canada.

When I got to the waiting area, there was already a line of people checking in for the train to Montreal — again, a diversion from other Amtrak trains I've taken.

On other trains, passengers just boarded when they were told to do so, without the formality of checking in. During this check-in process, I showed my passport and ticket and was given little paper tags to attach to my luggage.

Afterward, I was directed to the back of one final line, where I waited until the other passengers and I were instructed to walk, single-file, to the train.

Because my previous Amtrak journey had been in a private roomette, I wasn't sure what to expect from the coach cabin. What I found impressed me: large, spacious seats, each with ample leg room.

To my surprise, the seats leaned back way further than those on airplanes, and because there's so much space between rows, I didn't mind when the person in front of me reclined their seat.

Each seat also had a footrest under the chair in front of it, as well as an adjustable leg rest that folded back under the seat when you're done using it.

I got to chatting with the person in the seat next to me, a frequent rider of the Adirondack line.

She suggested that I move to the right side of the train when I could, as it offers better views of the Hudson River as the train chugs north through the state. I never did get the chance to swap seats, and for much of the ride, my view was just a wall of trees and dense foliage.

However, when we got closer to the Canadian border, I was grateful for my left-side seat — I had stunning views of Lake Champlain, a body of water that straddles both the US and Canada.

I packed a bagel and protein bar from home in an attempt to not splurge on food while traveling. I thought the dining car's food was reasonably priced, with chips and candy for around $3, and larger meals starting around $10.

Even though I packed my 48-ounce Nalgene water bottle, I did end up buying two little bottles of water to replenish it towards the end of the journey. As there are no water fountains on board, buying water from the dining car is the only option and cost about $6 for two.

It was at this point I began to get a bit antsy. I don't mind doing nothing for hours on end and can kill plenty of time just looking out the window. But as the train stood still for about an hour at the border, I started to get restless.

The train was halted as law-enforcement officials walked through the aisle to look at everyone's documents. They stopped at each row to inspect passengers' passports and the customs documents we had filled out beforehand and asked a few questions about what each of us was doing in Canada.

The questioning only took a few minutes per passenger, and after a little more than an hour, we were off to the final stretch before reaching Montreal.

No matter how plush the seat or how stunning the views, 12 hours on a train is still a pretty long time.

However, I was able to make the long-haul trip a bit more bearable by doing a few things: packing a blanket to keep me warm, packing my own snacks and water, and downloading TV shows to watch throughout the trip.

And despite the tiring, half-day journey, I thought taking a train to Canada was a great way to see a part of the world I hadn't yet experienced, and something I'd love to do again.