Amtrak will restore all suspended or combined Empire Service trains between New York Penn Station and Albany-Rensselaer in early March, according to a statement released by Governor Kathy Hochul. The decision follows Amtrak’s earlier proposal to reduce Empire Service trips for several years to accommodate the East River Tunnel project.
“‘When Amtrak proposed to significantly reduce Empire Service trips for several years to accommodate the East River Tunnel project, I demanded better. That’s why today, I’m proud to announce that Amtrak will be restoring all suspended or combined Empire Service trains between New York Penn Station and Albany-Rensselaer beginning in early March,’” Hochul said.
Nearly three million people use this state-supported train service each year to travel between New York City, the Hudson Valley, and the Capital Region. Hochul stated: “‘I have been clear that our commuters cannot suffer disproportionately for regional construction projects and am glad Amtrak has heeded my call and committed to running full service for the duration of the project and beyond. We will soon be able to offer more Empire Service capacity than existed even before the tunnel work began last spring and run full service far earlier than anticipated, which are big wins for riders.’”
The governor also addressed plans involving Metro-North service as an alternative during reduced Amtrak operations: “‘At the same time, I have felt the enthusiasm that met our announcement to run Metro-North’s high-quality service between Albany and Grand Central as a mitigation for reduced Amtrak service. With the full restoration of Empire Service, Amtrak has notified New York State and the MTA that it will no longer sanction temporary Metro-North service to Albany at this time. I remain fully committed to short and long-term proposals to bring better transit – including expanded Metro-North service if the demand exists – beyond Poughkeepsie and into the rest of the Hudson Valley and Capital Region. New Yorkers rely on high quality rail transit like no other state, and I will always fight to save commuters time and to make service better.’”