Dive Brief:
- The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority will inaugurate train service between New York City’s Grand Central Terminal and Albany next spring, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday.
- The MTA’s train service will fill in for reduced Amtrak service on the Hudson Line and is the first time the commuter railroad will run north of Poughkeepsie, New York.
- Amtrak partially reduced train service to Albany earlier this year to accommodate repairs to the East River Tunnel between the boroughs of Manhattan and Queens, where its trains are maintained and serviced in Sunnyside Yard.
Dive Insight:
Amtrak’s service reductions created friction between the railroad and the New York governor as 2 million yearly riders faced higher ticket prices and sold-out trains. Amtrak operates eight weekday round-trips between New York City and the Albany-Rensselaer, New York, station, two fewer than previously. It agreed to restore one additional round-trip beginning Dec. 1.
"Restoring Amtrak service and debuting Metro-North service to Albany is a huge win for riders,” Hochul said in a statement.
Hochul said she asked the MTA and its Metro-North Railroad to develop a plan to run commuter trains beyond Poughkeepsie. The MTA’s train will depart from New York City in mid-morning and return from the Albany-Rensselaer station in the afternoon. While Amtrak operates from Penn Station on Manhattan’s West Side, the MTA train will originate from Grand Central Terminal on the East Side. Travel time from Penn Station to Albany is about 2.5 hours.
New York State funds Amtrak’s Empire Service. The state and Amtrak agreed to cap fares for coach seats on all such trains at $99, according to the governor’s news release. Metro-North fares are expected to be less, perhaps as low as $40, according to The New York Times.
“The operational improvements to both Amtrak and Metro North will have a tremendous positive impact on the Capital Region and the City of Albany as we welcome even more visitors and commuters, and enhance access to one of the nation's busiest train stations,” Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said in a statement.
