Plans to help Amtrak improve service offered

PLATTSBURGH — With more delays on Amtrak’s Adirondack line, a private sector company believes it has a solution that will solve the problem and ensure safe and reliable travel through the region.

AmeriStarRail is proposing a plan that would extend Amtrak Empire Service to Washington, D.C. to avoid the railroad’s planned cuts in Albany-New York service by more than 20% starting November 11 to accommodate the East River Tunnel rehabilitation project in New York City.

The new service would be the first direct through-train service from the cities of Albany and the Hudson River to Philadelphia, Wilmington, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., AmeriStarRail says.

AmeriStarRail also aims to restore northeast corridor service to Montreal for the first time in nearly 30 years

AmeriStarRail bills itself as a private sector company, “planning the most dramatic transformation of Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor service since America’s first high-speed trains, the Metroliners, in 1969.”

They are planning to “privately finance and operate a new standardized fleet of high-speed trains, offering triple coach, business and first class service on all Amtrak Northeast Corridor trains. This will finally provide Transportation Equity on all Amtrak trains so seniors, families, students, people with disabilities and low-income passengers can have affordable and equitable access to high-speed rail service in America for the first time in our history. ”

PLANS

Scott Spencer, chief operating officer of AmeriStarRail, sent a letter to Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner, New York Governor Kathy Hochul and other New York state officials detailing several solutions to help Amtrak passengers avoid the biggest service cuts on the Empire Corridor in Amtrak’s history. .

“Such a draconian cut in service risks disrupting rail travel for businesses, families, friends, seniors, students and tourists, which would cause significant losses in ridership and Amtrak revenue on one of the busiest corridors in the country.” , Spencer said.

Spencer said one plan to help would be to improve through the operation of the Empire Service to Philadelphia and Washington, which would include the opportunity to combine some Northeast Corridor and Empire Service trains to reduce East River Tunnel train movements and provide a single-seat travel from Albany and Hudson River cities to Washington, D.C. for the first time.

If the Adirondack Line is combined with Northeast Corridor trains, it would restore Amtrak service from Washington, Baltimore, Wilmington and Philadelphia to Montreal, which was discontinued nearly 30 years ago, Spencer said.

This operation would be supported by the use of electric and diesel locomotives at each end of the train and by changing the train’s crew and direction at New York’s Penn Station. The locomotives and passenger cars would be serviced and maintained at Ivy City Yard in D.C. rather than Sunnyside Yard in New York, Spencer said.

“This is a common practice of what they do in Europe and Asia,” he said.

Amtrak did not specifically address AmeriStarRail’s plans, but said that of the two New York-Albany round trips that are suspended, one arrived at Albany-Rensselaer at 1:15 a.m. and departed at 5:10 a.m.; a train leaving Albany for New York at 5:55 continues to operate.

Customers who would have used the other suspended round trip (midday) will still be able to use (in both directions) other trains operating one hour or less before and one hour or less after the suspended round trip.

“To undertake a major rehabilitation of the East River Tunnel in New York City, a critical infrastructure component for Northeast travel that was damaged during Superstorm Sandy, Amtrak had to make temporary modifications to some long-distance and state-supported services ,” Amtrak said.

“We have been communicating and collaborating with our NYSDOT partners on these service changes and have mutually agreed to this new schedule, which preserves 80% of the line’s service while this important infrastructure asset receives its much-needed and overdue upgrade as part of an investment of US$1.6 billion of investments in the state of New York.”

NECESSARY CHANGES

Steve Strauss of the Empire State Passenger Association, an advocate for rail passengers, said the bottom line is that the state Department of Transportation and Amtrak have a number of things they could do to mitigate the impact of the tunnel closure on passengers. of Amtrak in the Hudson Valley and upstate, but have not yet decided to implement either.

“ESPA believes the easiest thing to do is to lengthen all remaining trains by one car or more, so that the number of seats in the aisle remains roughly the same, even if train frequency decreases,” Strauss said.

Service on the Adirondack Line, which runs from New York to Montreal and back, has been plagued by shutdowns and delays since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The problems have drawn the ire of regional authorities who are concerned about further delays in the future.

“Amtrak needs to stop playing games with the North Country,” said state Rep. D. Billy Jones (D-Chateaugay Lake).

“For more than four years, we have heard excuse after excuse about why they cannot operate the Adirondack Line to Montreal, which not only hurts our regional economy, but also the local residents and university students who depend on this service. This new delay due to construction in New York City is a disservice to the North Country that must be addressed by both Amtrak and the New York State Department of Transportation.”

North Country Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-Schuylerville) is also investigating the matter.

“My office has contacted Amtrak demanding accountability following its reckless decision to once again reduce the quality of service for passengers on the Adirondack Line just one month after resuming full service,” Stefanik said.

“Amtrak’s continued mismanagement of the Adirondack Line is unacceptable. I call on Amtrak to work toward a solution that avoids disrupting the lives of thousands of New Yorkers and tourists in our region.”

North Country Chamber of Commerce President Garry Douglas, who has long fought for better Amtrak service in the region, said that in the immediate future, the impact on the Adirondack and other New York-Albany trains during construction of the East River in the city needs an urgent review. -thought.

“Temporary 90- to 120-minute layovers in Albany need to be avoided so we can finally rebuild ridership after four years of multiple disruptions,” Douglas said.

“More broadly, Amtrak needs a cultural shift in our region by becoming communicative and transparent with our federal and state employees and key stakeholder groups like ours and the Empire State Passenger Association. Frankly, this may need to include some leadership changes at Amtrak by whoever is the next president.”