ARTA was formed in 2010 to advocate for the
replacement of failed tourist train service with a world-class
recreational trail.
Other than a seasonal tourist train between Lake
Placid and Saranac Lake that ran until 2018, the former New York Central line from Lake
Placid to Remsen (Old Forge) has been unused for passenger service
since 1965 and freight since 1972.
A seasonal tourist train was provided for in the
1996 Unit Management Plan as an experiment that had to prove itself
through market development for the benefit of the local economies.
In addition, the operator was committed to upgrading the entire
line from Lake Placid to Old Forge to Class III service (60 MPH max)
at its expense. This experiment failed: ridership never exceeded 14,000 per annum,
the only service was between Lake Placid and Saranac Lake,
and the New York Department of Transportation continues to expend
massive amounts to keep the corridor open and limited train
service running.
An attempt by the Town of North Elba is to
construct a parallel bike trail from Lake Placid to Saranac Lake at
a cost of no less than $4.4 million also failed. A 2010 study by Camoin
Associates presented data showing that a rail-trail would be the
better option, but said that anything but the status quo would be an
improvement. A subsequent Rails-to-Trails Conservancy study of
the 34 miles between Lake Placid and Tupper Lake said to expect
256,000 visitors and $20 million in new revenues if that section of
track were removed and converted to recreational uses.
Between 2011 and 2015 roughly 13,000 people
petitioned the State asking that the corridor be converted to
recreation. The Towns of Harrietstown and North Elba, the two ends
of the seasonal tourist train, petitioned the State for removal of
the rails and construction of a hike/bike/ski recreational trail.
They were joined by the Town and Village of Tupper Lake, the Village
of Lake Placid, the Towns of Piercefield and Colton, St. Lawrence
County, and over 400 businesses.
The New York Snowmobile Association strongly
supported removal of the unused rails since the corridor north of
Old Forge is a key connector to Tug Hill and Montreal, as well as to
the Saranac Lake/Lake Placid area. The rails present a serious
hazard to sleds when there is less than a foot of dense snow, which
is increasingly the case. They claim another $7 mm in winter-time
benefits to local businesses if the rails are removed.
Multiple hearings supported the
conversion of the corridor to recreation. The result was a
decision by NYSDEC and NYSDOT to convert the 34 miles between Lake
Placid and Tupper Lake to recreation and allow returned rail service
north to Tupper Lake from Utica. The scenic railway people
have said that they do not want to come to Tupper Lake and the
recreational trail people say they want the rail-trail to connect to
the Old Forge area, but the State is holding to this
‘compromise’. A
final UMP revision
was released in the spring of 2020 for review by the Adirondack Park
Agency, who then voted to approve the plan as being consistent with
the State Land Use Management Plan.
Many
corridors have been converted with great local benefits, click here
for some samples.
And here are
press reports on twenty rail-to-trail conversions, all with superb
results.
With the added benefit that property values near trails are always
higher.
See our
News tab
for the latest information. Please send
comments to the State if you want this to be a fair
and open process based on facts!

The trail will initially run from Lake Placid to Tupper Lake via Ray
Brook, Saranac Lake, Lake Clear, and Floodwood. A second stage
will connect Tupper Lake to Old Forge.