Train 69 to Montreal

My son and his girlfriend are currently on their way to Montreal. First 2 cars go all the way to Montreal. First car has AC, second car has no AC. Guess which car they're in. Yep, car 2 without AC. Car with AC is full.

I told them to go sit in the snack car, but I can't imagine they would allow them to stay there the entire trip.

What do you think the possibility of there being no AC the entire trip?

And, at what point would they make them move?

On a day with such extreme heat forecasted, I can't believe they allowed this car into service.

Perhaps the AC went out AFTER the train left the yard?

FYI - EVERY car on the Adirondack goes to Montreal. When departing NYP, they put everyone going to Canada together and everyone else in the other cars. Passengers at other stopscan chose any car. Feel free to move.

the_traveler said:

Perhaps the AC went out AFTER the train left the yard?

FYI - EVERY car on the Adirondack goes to Montreal. When departing NYP, they put everyone going to Canada together and everyone else in the other cars. Passengers at other stopscan chose any car. Feel free to move.

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Thank you for your response. They understood that they had to go to one of those 2 cars. Conductor did not tell them they could change. I will let them know. Thank you

TEREB said:

My son and his girlfriend are currently on their way to Montreal. First 2 cars go all the way to Montreal. First car has AC, second car has no AC. Guess which car they're in. Yep, car 2 without AC. Car with AC is full.

I told them to go sit in the snack car, but I can't imagine they would allow them to stay there the entire trip.

What do you think the possibility of there being no AC the entire trip?

And, at what point would they make them move?

On a day with such extreme heat forecasted, I can't believe they allowed this car into service.

Click to expand...

As the_traveler said, they can move to the other car. And if they did want to sit in the snack car for the whole trip, I imagine that the crew wouldn't care anyway, especially if they explained that they were just trying to get into the A/C.

Thanks all for your comments. I told them to move to another car. They just want to make sure they're in the right car for customs.

Call customer relations (Not customer service) they are usually good about compensation. I can understand the desire to keep the MTL passengers together, they are normally in the more comfortable AM-2, and it makes customs easier. Under the circumstances, it is unlikely anyone will say anything if you sat somewhere else, especially if you let them know you can move back after Plattsburgh (as an example)

Actually I do not understand why they even do this only at NYP. If you board at POU, SDY, FED, PLB, etc..., you take any seat in any car! So Customs has to go to all cars anyway.

the_traveler said:

Actually I do not understand why they even do this only at NYP. If you board at POU, SDY, FED, PLB, etc..., you take any seat in any car! So Customs has to go to all cars anyway.

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And even if passengers crossing the border aren't supposed to go into other cars, unless the crew literally locked people in those two coaches, customs would still have to sweep the whole train.

Don't give them ideas. It wouldn't be too difficult to actually lock them (in realist restrict them) in two Coaches just before arriving at the checkpoint.

Hopefully, within our lifetime, the Customs circus will get better. US will pre clear in MTL, so at least one direction will improve. The Montreal designated cars are normally the AM-2 so there is a reason to gravitate there, but as has been mentioned the whole train goes to MTL and back to NYP, with the exception of an Albany to NYP add on coach or the dome between ALB and MTL when it runs.

In order to do pre-clearance, the train will have to run sealed from the border and no longer stop at St. Lambert. In which case, they could operate the same way they do in Vancouver, with immigration services for both sides happening at Montreal. Same reason the Cascades don't stop at New Westminster or White Rock, otherwise both very logical stops in BC.

Note I say immigration. Currently, US Immigration is done in the Vancouver station, while US Customs is actually done at the border with a quick walk through of the train, while both Canadian Immigration and Customs is done in Vancouver. The passengers are not restricted to certain cars, the entire southbound train is inspected at the border. Although the crew does assign seating on check-in at Vancouver and you are expected to be in your assigned seat during inspection.

My understanding is once full pre-clearance comes into effect, they'll be able to do both US Immigration as well as Customs at Vancouver.

Also, I've ridden the Adirondack both ways, and the conductors were really dead set against any of the Montreal passengers moving. Heck, southbound they were dead set against the New York bound passengers moving even after the border was crossed.

It would be similar to the way flights to ftom MTL and TOR to LGA are handled. The deal was for St Lambert to go away.

Just an update. By the time they reached Albany, the AC started to kick in. Not great, but better. They did stay in the cafe car. Hamburger for lunch was so so.

Customs took 2 hrs. Agents boarded the train to interview passengers. Entire trip took 12 hrs.

After, they went to someplace called Vice Versa and enjoyed some poutine.

I apprectate all your responses. Thank you

Thanks for the update!