ALBANY — A new Amtrak schedule will take effect this spring for trains running between New York City and Albany, the company announced Thursday.
On April 28, changes to the company's Empire Service will take effect. The changes will result in the suspension of two trains, the 238 and 235, as well as an additional layover in Albany on Adirondack and Maple Leaf trains to begin the rehabilitation of the East River Tunnel in New York City.
Amtrak announced the rehabilitation of the tunnel in July 2024, due to it flooding in 2012 during Hurricane Sandy.
During the rehabilitation, the existing tunnel system will be demolished to its concrete lines, the materials that support the structure. From there, two of the four tubes that make up the tunnel system will be restored.
One tube will be closed at a time during construction, and the $1.6 billion project is expected to take three years to complete.
Amtrak will still run 10 daily northbound and southbound train services between New York City and Albany, and an additional train car will be added to 28 trains per week between New York City and Albany and between New York City and Niagara Falls to provide additional seating capacity, according to a press release from the company.
Schedule times for the Empire Service, Adirondack and Maple Leaf lines will also adjust to be 30 minutes earlier or later. The company said in a press release that the changes to the schedule will allow riders to have an earlier departure time when traveling south to New York City, and a later leaving time for the last northbound train.
Bruce Becker, communications director of the Empire State Passengers Association, said that the organization understood that the repairs to the East River Tunnel were necessary.
“We’re still concerned that the level of ridership, which has gone up significantly in recent months, may not all be accommodated,” he said. “But, we recognize the work on the tunnels does need to get done.”
Amtrak’s temporary service restoration of its Empire Service line will also continue for two more months, Amtrak said in a press release, and resulting in the combining of two lines, the Adirondack line, which runs between Toronto, Canada and New York City, and the Maple Leaf line, which runs between Montreal, Canada, and New York City, to one train.
Services on the Empire Service line, which runs from Albany to New York City, were suspended in November 2024, cutting three trains from the service.
They were restored through an agreement with Gov. Kathy Hochul and Amtrak, and were set to be in effect until March 2.
Now, the service will continue on its current schedule through April 27.
“Amtrak is committed to providing the best possible service to our Empire Service customers while we begin our critical work on the East River Tunnel used in this service,” Amtrak President Roger Harris said in a press release. “These significant upgrades will modernize critical infrastructure and ensure long-term improvements to the Empire Service and other Amtrak and commuter services for a better customer experience and more reliable trip."
