Amtrak will restore service between the city’s Penn Station and Albany in early March – avoiding what riders and officials would mean years of commuter chaos.
Some Big Apple-to-Albany trips have been suspended since last May because of an ongoing project to rehab the Hurricane Sandy-damaged East River Tunnel, sending officials scrambling with a plan to bring temporary Metro-North trains to the Capital Region.
Gov. Kathy Hochul took credit for the turnaround, saying it came after a pressure campaign and comments she made blasting Amtrak’s original plan to slash trains during the tunnel rehab.
“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,”
MTA chairman Janno Lieber hinted the agency will keep exploring the “possibility” of running Metro-North trains north of Poughkeepsie.
“We appreciate that the Governor’s initiative played out,” Lieber said. “She instructed us to keep planning for this because there seems to be some interest in maybe Metro-North — perhaps because we’re usually half the cost of Amtrak, right? — continuing to plan for the possibility of at some future date providing that service or some version of service north of Poughkeepsie,” Lieber.”
Amtrak’s long-term service cuts could have lasted several years while two of the century-old East River Tunnel tubes are rebuilt after damage from Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
Amtrak said it identified enough equipment through broader Northeast Corridor schedule changes to restore Empire Service while keeping the tunnel project on time and within budget, with completion still expected in 2027.
Justin Vonashek, president of Metro North, said the regional train outfit was “disappointed” it didn’t get to send their trains to Albany to fill in the service gaps as planned.
